Guyver La Kill
by Kythrae
Summary: A new Zoanoid attack causes a malfunction of the Gigantic for Sho Fukamachi. What at first is just disorientating, becomes the realization that Sho is on another Earth. There is an odd Academy where the students are ranked from 0 to 3 Stars and run by a commanding President of the Student Council. Will Sho find a way home, or will he have to face the Life Fibers instead?
1. Chapter 1 - The Void

_The world of Guyver has revealed that mankind was made as base materials for bioweapons. The alien race, the Creators, fled Earth when it was learned of the terrifying possibility of a Guyver unit bonding with a Zoalord. The unit, a bio-boosting armor, was standard equipment for the Creators, but combined with mankind it magnified his power 100 fold and worse, was beyond any control of its masters. With the technology of the Creators gone, the only masters left were the prototype weapons, the Zoanoids and their 12 masters, the Zoalords, to continue the work. Into this, 2 humans have obtained the power of the Guyver to resist them and try to keep mankind free of Zoalord control._

* * *

 _Many battles have hunted Agito, Guyver III, and Sho, Guyver I, but now they have obtained the power to stand toe to toe with the greatest Zoalord, Arcenfel himself. Dr Balcus, fearing the power of the Guyvers, has researched all methods to overcome their terrifying new powers of Guyver Gigantic but has concluded that biology is not the answer, technology is._

 _For all that there are gaps in the knowledge left behind by the Creators, Balcus has had centuries to learn it and see the potential.. With the few dead husks of ships still available to him and highest priority to deal with this issue, he has finally come upon a plan that only the new Gigantic enhancement will allow to happen._

 _A new one time use Zoanoid has been ready made, much like Enzyme before, but this one is unique in that it is not meant to kill the Guyver, but sever it from it weapons forever._

* * *

It had been a troublesome problem to be sure. The monster children had proven more resilient than even his predictions had shown. The terrifying ability of full regeneration from just the control metal had stunned him, but now he remembered these things were tools. The Guyver Remover was long destroyed but the methods of these machines still remained true.

The ancient Zoalord in the shape of a wizened balding old man moved his considerable girth with more ease than any human ever could. He had been quite old when he was remade into one of the 12, but Dr Balcus had the most power as well. His pale eyes with the large red crystal between, looked at the readouts of the optimization of the most interesting Zoanoid he had ever created.

No matter how he looked at it, the Guyvers were impressive for forcing him to get inventive in ways he had never considered. In many ways, what those two had done had pushed the Zoanoid optimization to the maximum it could ever be. In Aptom it had revealed the dangers as well of pushing too far.

His wrinkled brow creased even more at that memory and failure. The Lost Unit had become troublesome in many more ways but he at least was understood and could be beaten once cornered. He had proven that once and would do so again.

Now he grinned wickedly and let his robes shake with a chuckle. Not since his work on Richard Guyot had he felt so invigorated. He had pushed the Zoalord technology to its utmost and still fell short of Arcenfel, but he had glimpsed potential not seen before then. He did so again now if in a different way. The world was now Chronos' to do with as it pleased but the Guyvers gave hope to those that wanted the world back. It was time to crush that once and for all.

The tank readouts finally entered the green and began to drain. Void was ready.

* * *

The Zoanoid battalion vanished in a flash of light and shaking earth as Guyver III used his megasmasher to open a hole in the enemy. Since the return of Guyver I, the Thunderbolts had gotten new found recruits and interest world wide. Agito seethed over the fact the Gigantic only seemed to answer Sho, but according to all they could work out, it should work for either of them.

Right now though, he was glad to let the more experienced of them use it as it did take a toll on the user. Sho had shown improvement but each time he disengaged it the exhaustion showed through. The massive Gigantic was erecting a barrier around their trump card, Tetsuo's new machine. He claimed to have found a way to break the Zoalord mind control, which would be a coup indeed if he could pull it off.

His side senses felt something change and the whole of the battle changed tone. The very air seemed to resonate with him and then gave him a slight headache as all the Zoanoids in his field of view stopped confused. The mix of scales, feathers, and bio-lasers they all possessed seemed to shock no few of them. This time the local Zoalord had forced them to transform and now the human beings inside were aware again. He had done it!

"Nicely done Segawa!" He opened his other chest plate and unleashed the megasmasher again. He heard the protest but was shocked when the Gigantic barrier stopped his attack cold. Its powers were beyond a simple Guyver and Sho was unreadable inside of it. His speed was greater than anticipated as well.

He closed the distance and disengaged the Gigantic to confront him. His honorable view was often grating on Agito's nerves, but he understood it. The former army was wondering away or running in some cases that had noticed the near miss. A few seemed to want to keep coming but looked at where Sho had been and thought better of it.

* * *

"They are free Agito! There is no need to kill them!" Sho felt rage like he had rarely known. More and more, Agito was killing those he need not. A part of him voiced the objection that once outside the range of the jammer, the Zoalords would reassert control, but right now they were the men and women they once were.

He said a small prayer of thanks that all knew what they were and were not devoted entirely, he even saw a few change back. The only saving grace of Chronos' take over was their harsh reality was in the open. The Guyvers were hunted as treasonous people true, but they were not cold blooded killers.

"Still such a little boy Fukamachi! They are Zoanoids, there is no going back for them and a quick death now as themselves is preferable than the slow death as slaves!" It was not entirely empty words, but Agito barely had a heart. He had grown up in their world and Sho wondered if that was what drove him now. Both stopped as the jammer suddenly ceased sending.

The army did not reform but they saw that Tetsuo was frantically trying to find out what happened. His glasses slipped a bit as the slim form of Mitsuki checked the power from below the blocky unit. The brother and sister had willingly come to the battlefield but if their machine was erratic, it was no good to them.

Guyver I moved like a bolt of blue to get to them but no Zoanoid moved in their direction. They kept milling away or staying back. Sho used all his eyes to see and sense the world, but nothing was coming back their way. It disturbed him the Zoalords were not pushing the advantage with the claws of a Gregorl or even an Enzyme or two. The entire battle had been difficult but planned as a test of the jammer.

It had worked but now something had failed.

"—don't get it. Power is on, field is stable, so why did it stop?" His oldest friend was looking at his creation in confusion more than fear. He often forgot about the horror of the Zoanoids if a problem was put before him. His love merely looked at him and smiled thanks. She had changed the most of them all, although considered he had died twice now, that was not exactly a fair comparison.

"What is wrong Tetsuo?!" His large friend looked up at him but he was only confused. He shrugged and pointed that all the readouts were green. It was not being cancelled out by a Zoalord, so what was happening?

He felt Agito suddenly spike in pain through his Guyver. He whirled around to see the dark from of Guyver III plop onto the ground prone. He was still alive, even missing his right arm and massive blood loss, the Guyver would not let him die from that. The Zoanoid that did it was new however and Sho had not felt it at all!

"Get out of here now!" He screamed to his two closest friends and they quickly retreated. By whatever Gods allowed it, the Zoanoid never even glanced at them. It was white skinned with dark crystals throughout its body. It reminded him of Guyot and his gravity bullet form. This one was more human in size though.

"You are Guyver I?" It spoke so softly and Sho realized it was blind! It did not move its eyes at all because they were crystal as well. What was this thing? How did it attack Guyver III without seeing him?

"You are quiet. That is wise. Guyver III was not quiet and I find I do not like him. I have no hatred of you but I am here for you. The sound hurt my ears so I made it stop, I sent it away." The calm way it spoke sent chills up his spine. There was no control here, this Zoanoid had been made for a purpose and it was sent out. _What did it mean it sent it away?_

He was near exhausted but the Guyver would sustain him for a time. He extended his blades and felt the whine of the blades go up as they vibrated. He saw the creature frown but it did not seem to disapprove. It now was looking right at him. Sho launched at full speed and ripped the earth in his wake with the strength of it.

The white Zoanoid easily dodged his blade, but the head beam got him directly in the knee as he passed. There was no cry of pain but a smile broke on its face that was more crystals than teeth! Sho stared as he saw the knee undamaged and then his memory replayed in slow motion.

The beam had been about to hit when the crystals changed color to blue and it vanished.

"That was well done Guyver I. I gave you a decoy to use and did not expect the combo attack." The praise sounded honest but Sho felt the chills again. This Zoanoid was strong, fast, and it had a trick they had not seen before. It seemed risky to try again, but he could equip it one more time. They had to win and get Agito out of here at least.

"GIGANTIC!" He called forth his enhancement of the Guyver and saw the Zoanoid smile wider still. The feeling of dislocation came and then all the crystals glowed blue. Something had gone wrong! The Gigantic was in his field of view but it was not enclosing him as it normally would. He also saw dark blood begin to flow from the nose and mouth of the Zoanoid.

"Dr Balcus did not get it quite right. I can just barely stop it but to truly sever it will take all that I am. He made me to die but that is all right. I do like you Sho, you are much more honest than Guyver III. Too bad I have to kill you now." Pain lanced over the connection and Sho felt the Gigantic being pushed as it tried to enclose him. Something had stopped the summoning!

 _Guyver, we can do this!_ His old habit of talking to his unit was met with the glow of the control metal on the Guyver and the Gigantic. He did not know what it meant but he saw shock on his enemy.

"I am the Void! You cannot defy me Guyver I!" Blood gushed and the crystals flared but no ground was gained either way. Pressure was building on both sides and Sho hoped the Zoanoid would bleed out before the units failed.

* * *

Wind began to buffet them both and Agito was able to crawl away and watched the strange battle. He feared what this creature was, it had absorbed his gravity blast as if it was nothing at all. He had only vague ideas and would need Segawa to confirm or find an explanation but the Zoanoid had goaded Sho into bringing back the Gigantic.

It had been sent to sever the power from them somehow and it was meeting with unexpected resistance. He also suspected it was like Enzyme I, meant to die after completing its mission but had been told otherwise. The Zoanoid was gushing blood but still stood somehow.

It smiled wider and wider as the battle went on. It then laughed as it shot out energy to Guyver I, but instead of piercing him, it surrounded him. The light of the control metal shone, as did the Gigantic's. The light grew on both sides until the air ripped asunder and something like the rift Agito had once traveled showed itself.

It was a maelstrom of chaos and the effect on this Void creature was amusing. It was shocked and crying.

"So wrong…you got it so wrong Balcus!" The words were screamed into the chaos and then it burst into pieces as its power tore it apart. Thinking it over, Agito watched in horror as the Gigantic closed over Guyver I and was pulled into the tear. It snapped closed and he could no longer feel Guyver I at all.

"FUKAMCHI!" Agito screamed in impotence as the weapon he wanted and ally he needed vanished once again. He heard the sounds of choppers and other vehicles, the Guyver had partially regenerated his arm so he could move more easily. He moved off to the meeting point to tell the others that once again Sho was beyond their reach. He refused to believe he was dead…a Guyver never dies.

* * *

His head hurt, a lot. The Guyver Gigantic was still around him but he was aware he was in water. Given he had been far inland by his last memory, this was not a good thing. Agito had told him the Gigantic could move them through a different space, maybe even how the Creator ships traveled the galaxy, but he remembered nothing of it.

This time he probably had experienced it but never wanted to again. He would need to get his bearings and hope he was not near a Zoanoid base. With ease, the Gigantic gravity controls glowed and raised him just enough to see the surface.

He reached out with all his senses looking for Zoanoids through out the city and buildings, but he seemed to be lucky or the Gigantic planned the landing better. There were no Zoanoids at all. Sho felt a distrust of this but then his senses picked up something odd.

It was a group of students picking on a young girl. It sharply reminded him of the life he left behind, even in its cruelty. The odd thing was he felt threat from the group picking on her. The senses of the Gigantic screamed these were a threat. Even so, he saw they were only human. He submerged and dismissed the Gigantic for now. He was about to leave when he heard the group clearly.

"You No-Stars need to know your place better, under my heel!" The leader of the group was a boy maybe only a year older than Sho in the grade he had been, but even though it was overkill, he could not fight a group like that as just himself. He also would not let this pass if it was becoming more than school bullying. One was a fact of life you had to learn to deal with and overcome, but the other was not acceptable at all. The world is unfair, but not without allies.

"Leave her alone." He saw the shock on their faces and expected any moment to have them call for Chronos security, but they stood stock still, unsure what to do. Confused, but not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, Sho quickly got his armored arms around the young girl.

Surprisingly, she sprang up, bleeding slightly, but full of energy.

"WOW! Is that a new Goku uniform?! It looks super scary powerful and very revealing, I don't know if I could ever wear something like that!" She spoke so quickly he thought he might have misheard her. He had no idea what a Goku uniform was but the 4 people arrayed against him had assumed smug looks.

The Guyver was still feeling a threat but nothing like a Zoanoid or Zoalord. They blurred in front of him, but then the Guyver caught up to their speed. They were easily 5 times faster than most humans and their strength was considerable but he barely felt it as they pummeled the Guyver armor. His blue plates barely flinched, but their strength was confusing. No humans that were not optimized could do this, yet these were. The girl with mousy brown hair had her jaw dropped and Sho decided he had done enough.

With lightning speed, he hit the gut of all 4 students but just enough to wind them. They dropped stunned to their knees.

His left side eye felt the attack coming and dodged a whip of some kind. Expecting a Zoanoid, he was again stunned to find a very well built man in a school uniform with 3 stars on the front looking at him in rage. This man was far faster but the Guyver was able to track the whips as they came at him from his sleeves.

Sho was becoming more confused but rather than fight he opted for a show of power.

He extended his blades on his elbows and tried to slice through the whips. He was stunned when his blade bounced back. It had nicked it, but not cut the whip at all! _What is that made of?!_

The damage to the whips gave the large man pause, then he arched an eyebrow and glared at him.

"I am Gammagorri of the Elite 4! You will submit to President Satsuki immediately or I will make you pay with your life!" Sho exhaled sharply and changed tactics. He concentrated and unleashed a gravity attack that smashed the street and covered the area in debris smoke. He quickly dove into the water and got the Guyver to get him away quickly.

What was going on? What are those uniforms and what are they made of? Sho surfaced at the end of the bridge he was next to and looked back in true confusion. All of the changes to Japan he knew had been done by Chronos after their take over. He had seen complexes and sky scrapers more than he cared to in his battles. What he saw now was some kind of mashed together slums below more well built homes that all lead up to some huge structure at the top of a hill.

That was not anywhere in the world and it was clearly a place of power based on what he had just seen. He disengaged the Guyver and found his clothes were, thankfully, intact this time. He quickly found a trash can with a paper in it and saw a world he had not known since he found the Guyver. There was no mention of Chronos, Zoanoids, or anything he was familiar with. Mostly there was news of a conglomerate taking over most of Japan's clothing lines called Revocs and the Academy he had been at was there too.

"What is going on? Where am I?" He looked at the paper and saw Honnouji Academy was accepting applicants. He needed answers and right now the only people he knew anything about were here. There had to be an answer.

* * *

 _For 3 months Sho came to learn about the place he had found. He learned of things called Goku Uniforms and made his way as a No-Star. He learned there was no Chronos here and somehow he was in a Japan that had never known that nightmare. Trapped but with no way back or to know what had happened, Sho enjoys the relative peace of Academy life. Occasionally, a strange armored man helps people but he is pursued by the Elite 4 and their President._

 _Sho is left feeling more desperate by the day but he has no resources to investigate what happened to him with the Void. Then a new student arrived like a storm, Ryuko Matoi._


	2. Chapter 2 - Guyver and Transfer Student

_Kill La Kill is a world where Life Fibers have guided mankind to become the ultimate food source and eventually to engulf the world. As a side effect of donning clothing with active Life Fibers, humans can achieve power far beyond a normal man. Ryuko has lost her father 6 months ago to someone wielding a giant scissor and left half of it behind. Following the clues, she has come to Honnouji Academy in search of his killer. In her first day she has seen a teen strung up as a traitor and left for bird food while making friends with the impossible to believe Mankanshoku (Mako). She continues to look for clues as Mako tells her about a weirdo in blue armor of some kind._

* * *

"Mako! I get it! You saw some guy acting the hero, but who is the head honcho around here?" Ryuko was losing patience but listened to the quick ramble that suddenly lead up to bowing. The whole student body had gone from milling to perfect line up for a large guy coming down the steps of the Academy.

She listened to Mako call him the Disciplinary Leader of the Elite 4. Coming down behind him was a raven haired elite if she ever saw one. She smiled wide to know she had found who she was looking for, this 'Satsuki.'

* * *

Sho watched the sudden confrontation the new student was giving to the President and cringed. He knew his Guyver could stand up to the Goku uniforms but he had refrained from such blatant incidents. The sudden appearance of the red scissor half shocked all as Sho saw her wield it with great skill.

Even so, a mere human stood no chance here, and the boxing club stopped her cold. He saw that all were distracted and quietly fell back into the shadows.

* * *

The punch had sharply hit her jaw and the fire was spreading to her body as he hit her again and again. She had faced so many and this boy was trouncing her! The Scissor Blade was all that was keeping her up and she saw Satsuki, arrogant as ever, look at her coldly.

"I thought you would be more amusing. Retrieve the blade." She whirled around and Ryuko felt her blood boil.

"GUYVER!" The entire courtyard froze as a ball of light appeared in the sky. Out of it came some thing in blue that fell between Ryuko and the boxer. It blew 2 vents out of its face and stood at least 7 feet tall! It was mostly blue with some kind of dark layer connecting it all.

"Get out of here now!" Ryuko took the chance and stole a passing delivery bike. She looked back and saw in awe the blue guy stop the punch cold!

* * *

Sho was impressed at the strength but this was the first time he had dared transform at the Academy. Like with Mako, he could not stand by to so brutal an attack. Still, he was in danger as the Elite 4 looked at him eagerly and the President stared daggers at him.

He concentrated into his mouthpiece and blasted all with a sonic attack as he quickly made his own retreat. While the dust cloud was covering all he sent the Guyver away and rejoined the student body. Coughing honestly, he smiled at the trick that kept him safe. They all assumed he was wearing armor that had to be taken off like their uniforms, but the Guyver was always with him.

A lot of shouting and chaos was settled by wave of Satsuki's hand. Her eyes were blue steel as they razed the crowd of students but she quickly marched back up to the Student Council chambers atop the central tower that lay opposite the entrance to the massive central yard. Sho was careful to keep his slim form hunched down like all the others while keeping an eye out for any further trouble.

The boxing president was hauled off by Sanageyama with the rest of the Elite 4 in the trail behind the class president.

 _I wonder what that was all about but hopefully that new girl sees the problems with this place._ While compared to any Zoanoid, this Academy was a paradise, Sho felt it was his best chance at learning what had happened to him. The unusual abilities of the Goku uniforms meant that technology of this place was far beyond any normal high school he had ever attended. Tetsuo would be beside himself with half the things he had seen in these few months.

The thought of his oldest friend brought the heartache of missing all his friends and the terror of what might be happening with him not there. The only things Sho had been able to confirm was absolutely zero signs of Chronos or Zoanoids on this Earth. That he had come to a different Earth would have rattled a much less experienced him, but after creating the Gigantic and facing the Zoalords the last year or more, made this realization easier to accept.

 _Now how do I get home?_ It was not the first time Sho had asked that question, but he was closing in that something to do with the Gigantic summon had been interrupted by that strange Zoanoid and the result was coming here. Unfortunately the Gigantic had answered his summons easily and no amount of concentration had brought anything useful from it.

Making his way back to class, and noting that Mako was still looking for the new girl, Sho resumed his life as a high school student.

* * *

The nearly empty classroom had a good view of the school yard encircled by the massive fortress that was Honnouji Academy. Mikisugi had recognized Ryuko instantly and made his way down to his car to see if she would show up at the old mansion. As he moved, he felt an excitement he did not let show on his currently bored face. Floppy curled hair, glasses, and loose neck tie gave the impression of a teacher at the end of a long day, but the powerful leader of Nudist Beach was dancing inside.

He finally had seen the student that had been giving the Elite 4 headaches with his strange outfit transform. It was not what he expected. It seemed like the armor appeared to his call and could vanish just as quickly.

 _Who are you Sho Fukamachi?_ The odds of such a person coming here now seemed very low, but Dr. Matoi had made no mention of another force opposing the Life Fibers. He pushed that back for now and did what had to be done, getting to the mansion before Ryuko.

* * *

Sho frowned at the difficult situation he was in later that day. The whole of the student body had been gathered to watch as the boxing president had Mako strung up over boiling oil. He would have tried to slip away if not for the fact the entire Elite 4 with the disciplinary members were scanning the crowd like hawks.

Oddly, he heard them announce that Mako would be dipped if the transfer student did not show up by the appointed time. Sho wished he could do something but he may be forced to reveal he was the Guyver.

The world tilted as we was nearly bowled over by a force of wind behind him. A cloaked form seemed to hop over the crowd to Mako. Sho saw her face inside the hood and was curious to the change in her ability. He knew enough from observing Zoanoids that something had changed in Ryuko.

He breathed a deep relief as Mako was saved and then saw the trap close in on Matoi. A boxing ring had propped up and she faced off against those dangerous gloves. Sho ground his teeth as he heard her challenge to a fight, but then he noticed the crowd was now invisible. He took no chances and glanced around to only sigh again that too many recordings could be happening to risk it.

The ding of the bell drew him back and he was as shocked as the rest when the cloak was torn away by the transformed gloves. _What kind of outfit is that?!_

A blush ran through his face as he saw the dark top stop well above the waist then connect by suspenders to the skirt ,again very short, and end in some kind of high heeled boots. All of it was black with some white and red thrown in. The left shoulder had what seemed to be an eye design scarf while the right was an eyepatch. It barely covered her and Mitzki would gouge his eyes out for half the thoughts that came to Sho at that moment.

His eyes registered more though, having watched the Goku uniforms he could tell, that was no ordinary cloth she was wearing. The fight paused, with a lot of argument, and Sho also noticed that Ryuko was not afraid of him at all. He watched more carefully and was again shocked when her outfit shattered the gloves. She just stood there taking the hits and they barely seemed to bother her.

 _Is it like the Guyver? How powerful is she?_ Sho watched more carefully and then lost her when she actually moved. In a breath she seemed to shred the dangerous clothes from her opponent and Sho barely saw glowing red thread seem to be absorbed by the outfit Ryuko wore. The chaos created by the defeat finally gave him what he wanted and he slipped away.

Sho spared only to find a safe alcove with no prying eyes, and summoned the Guyver as quietly as he ever had. Once equipped he was able to see and hear everything.

"Where did you get that uniform?" Satsuki's voice was cool, but he recognized a tinge of anger to it. Sho saw Ryuko was shaking in her muscles but barely showing it. The outfit was wearing her out fast.

"A gift from my father!" Again he could hear her anger as well, but this time he knew that anger. Something had happened to her father and Sho knew he was dead because of it. The memory of his own hurt less now, but the scene was burned into him forever.

The Guyver saw she was going to collapse shortly, but before he acted, he saw the scarf move! If he had not been in the Guyver he may have missed it, but he saw it move and look at Ryuko! _It is alive!_

Time was up as he saw the Scissor blade drop to keep her up.

* * *

 _Ryuko, you are about to pass out from blood loss. We have to go._ Senketsu's voice was irritating but she could feel her body was like a new born fawn. It irked her and she wanted to lash out, but then the shadow fell over her as silence descended.

The guy in the blue armor was looking down at her! This made her want to punch him but she felt no danger from him.

"I can get you out of here or I can be a distraction for you, which do you prefer?" The voice was calm and gave nothing away of the person saying it. Ryuko very much wanted to hit him, but her body was too weak to resist. She was falling before she felt the cool arms embrace her and she flushed from embarrassment.

Suddenly the sound of impacts came from around them and the world became dust clouds. Just as she figured out he had done something, she was pushed up against him while the same arm cradled the scissor blade.

The world fell away and she saw they were flying! It was the last thing she felt before darkness claimed her.

* * *

Rage was barely curtailed as the annoying gnat flew away again. The kamui was tantalizing, not least because it was clearly Dr. Matoi's work, but the fact the girl could wear it so easily. She looked at Inumuta but he already shook his head. Somehow, the Guyver knew he was hunted by more than people.

 _These distractions may prove useful but we must control or destroy this Guyver as well as Matoi!_ She exhaled sharply and returned to her chambers. The next time would be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3 - Shadow of Chronos

_Sho has met the transfer student Ryuoko, a girl much like him now with some kind of more powerful outfit than the Goku uniforms he had come to know. As the Guyver, he carries her far outside the reach of the Academy and lands in the slums of the No-Stars. He is unsure what will come next but he may at last have an ally to help him find a way home._

 _On the furthest outskirts of experimental city, the world is straining once again._

* * *

The slums did give way to a sewer before the bay was reached and the only bridge to the mainland connected the island to the greater world beyond. As happened 3 months ago, the laws of physics were being pushed to their boundaries.

The trash was being flung up into a vortex or ripped apart as the lean to shelters shook the bolts and nails that barely held the whole street side together. The occupants quickly shuttered their windows in fear of a storm, an act that may have saved all their lives.

A massive clawed hand pierced out of the air, quickly followed by a massive bipedal creature, green scaled and over 9 feet tall with a tail to boot and horns protruding out of his head. A Gregol breathed heavily as the dizziness passed slowly from the passage through dimensions. His body burned but held together after 7 failed attempts by other Zoanoids.

 _Report._ The voice of Dr Balcus was faint but he could still hear it. His sharpened yellow eyes took in the odd exit of the rift. It was not anywhere on earth that he knew of anymore and relayed all he saw. The towering fortress at the center of the island stood out far above, but the scents on the air were of nothing but humans.

 _Interesting, this is far more interesting than I expected. It is not just a question of space but of dimensions. That is why we could not find Guyver I nor the Gigantic after the battle. Locate the Guyver or anyone of interest for information. Kill any witnesses._

The feral grin spread on the sickening monster's face but he slowly began to shrink until just a man with dark hair and pale eyes stood where the towering monster had been. Unfortunately no one had poked their heads out while he had been transformed, but that would change no doubt.

The well built but slim man smiled wide as he envisioned the powerless beings around him as the rift closed. A small twinge of worry sparked that he may not be able to return alive, but so long as that order never came, he was fine. Chronos may have found a new source of humans for optimization that the Guyvers discovered by accident.

The smile vanished as the Zoanoid remembered Guyver I was likely here and there were no backup troops likely coming for a long time. It had taken 3 vaporized Zoanoids before Dr Balcus understood the forces at work when the experimental Void had interrupted the Gigantic summon. The Creators technology had been far more resilient than any could predict once again, but the data from the battle had lead to the discovery of a weakness in energy readings.

The similarity to Void's attack lead research to try again, but reproducing that Zoanoid proved difficult. Instead, 8 Zoanoids had been selected to attempt entry into the rift until one succeeded. Guyver III remained at large and their group a thorn, but the danger of Guyver I and Gigantic forced Chronos to divide its attentions.

"Soon Guyver, soon you will be ours again." The Gregol grabbed some clothes from a drying line and began to make his way through the new world.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Dr. Balcus reviewed the strange visions but they were not as detailed as they could normally be seen. It was dangerous to send anything powerful through the rift, even assuming it could survive, the control of a Zoalord would be non-existent. Even so, he could make out enough to know the scene was from no where on this Earth, yet the feel of it was definitely Earth.

His massive beard trailed behind his pale robes as he looked at the dismal success rate of breaching the rift they had created by accident. Once again, the Guyvers proved a frightening ability to survive what only a Zoalord could survive for certain. Even Arcenfel was uncertain what the Creators were capable of in full, but this had surprised them all. Guyver I should have been ripped apart and a chance at his control metal given, but instead both the Gigantic and Guyver had vanished as if teleporting away.

Dr Balcus had seen the Chrysalis do that once before and found the idea of the Gigantic teleporting into any Chronos facility disheartening to say the least, but it had just vanished.

He had exhausted many forces hunting Guyver I, only to stumble on the rift by accident. If Richard was still alive, and made more loyal of course, his abilities would have been beyond helpful.

The red jewel in his old head flared as Arcenfel asked for an update. He sent it and felt surprise and some excitement in the thought waves of the one he had found so long ago. For all his plans of world domination and preparing for the return of the Creators, Arcenfel was surprisingly curious in many ways.

The massive monitors confirmed another failed attempt at recreating the Void Zoanoid. It was just too delicate a matrix to combine that power with a Zoanoid designed to die. He was certain a Zoalord could survive the journey, but without the technology of Chronos, they would not be able to return.

His bald head furrowed at the very real likely hood the Guyver could return on its own, but clearly the boy with it did not understand how that aspect of it worked. For once the Zoalord could not blame the human for that ignorance. If he had known of that possibility, Void would never have been optimized, as there would have been no point.

The danger was also if the Guyver could return with allies powerful enough to fight Chronos, that is why they had to find him and kill him. With the Gigantic lost and Guyver I beyond any hope of return, Guyver III and his remaining forces would be a minor annoyance to the Council.

A moment flashed through his memory of Guyver I, with his brain destroyed, easily defeating the Enzyme II Zoanoid. Dr Balcus was beginning to understand the fear the Creators must have had. They _knew_ what a Guyver unit was capable of and Chronos continued to grope in the dark against them. For all the arrogance of his first encounters with them, the old Zoalord had begun to understand the depth of power the Guyvers could command.

Children could bring ruin to it all and it was time to find a way to end the threat of both forever.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

Ryuoko had passed out in his arms as they flew over the slums. Sho found the alley he needed, the only one they could go to. The Back-Alley Doctor was Mako's father and thus he could trust him. The sweat slicked and barely clothed girl was the definition of exhaustion but he did not know why.

The red kerchief had moved a few more times against the wind to look at him, but he heard nothing from it. The shadows were deep here, but with hardly any breaks in buildings or fences, it was always shadowed even at high noon.

Gently laying her on the ground, Sho chucked a pebble at the door and then hopped deeper into a shadow to guard her.

He saw what had to be Mako's mother poke her head out and the blonde bun quickly disappeared inside to grab her husband.

As Sho was about to leave, he saw red sparkles appear and the clothes changed shape and morphed in front of his eyes to a sailor uniform, still with midriff exposed but not nearly as much as before.

He obeyed the instinct to float back up and away from the eye of the uniform before dismissing the Guyver one alley over. He came rushing back as Mako and her parents were carrying Ryuoko into their house.

Reassured she was safe, he made his way to his own 'home.' The slums really did not have designated places but once claimed people generally left you alone, especially if you had nothing to take.

It was a simple shack with one room, a desk, and a bed with a glorious luxury of a window that let a breeze in at night.

A simple diary with a few notes on the hierarchy of the Academy was all he had besides some simple food stuffs. Sho had not held onto his pride about what he ate and when, a year of barely surviving against Chronos had left him far less picky than before.

Collapsing on his simple bed and running his hand through his short dark hair, Sho reflected on the one oddity of his rescue. Just before she passed out, she had said something strange.

 _Senketsu, don't worry so mu—_ The name had coincided with the movement of that eye on her outfit, but Sho had seen so many impossible things, he easily suspected that outfit was somehow alive. The Guyver senses he had screamed of tension the whole flight but nothing happened.

"I guess we shall see how she is tomorrow." He was about to drift off when the scream pierced the night.

Without pause, he summoned the Guyver and quickly took the rooftops towards the source of the sound.

The world blurred for him, but his left sensor detected swift movement then nothing. Changing directions on landing, Sho jumped down into a charnel house. Blood covered the ground and the fence as what was left of a human being lay there torn to shreds.

Murder was extremely uncommon here, more so because it was one of the few crimes to be sure to bring Gammagorri down from the Academy in force. Sho scanned the scene and kept the bile down easily. The violence was clear but it was frighteningly familiar as well.

 _A Gregol did this with its horns!_ Sho felt sweat trickle down his back as he swept the area, but the Zoanoid could easily be out of range by now or just human in shape and impossible to find. Chronos was here!

Both fists clenched tightly, Sho was left with being only able to return to his home and be careful that no one followed him from any direction. The scream had been bait, bait to see if he was here and it had worked.

"Damn you Chronos, these people are innocent!" Sho hissed as he dismissed the armor once again. He had made sure no one was nearby and double checked with his own eyes. No shadows for now, but Chronos knew what he looked like and who he was. The only advantage he had was that the Academy was students, teachers, and their families. A new face would stand out quickly. He only prayed no more would be killed needlessly by the monster here.

It was only as he drifted off to a light sleep that Sho realized if Chronos could come here, he might be able to get home.


	4. Chapter 4 - Power of the Guyver

_Chronos has begun to follow Sho to the alternate Earth he was flung to. While the reassurance he may be able to go home gives him hope, the nightmare of what could come through terrifies him. The 2 Star Goku uniforms might be able to stand up to a Zoanoid but if a Hyper-Zoanoid or a Zoalord comes, only the Gigantic could stand up to them._

 _A restless night for both Sho and Ryuko brings them to a morning of revelations and bitter lessons._

* * *

Ryuko did not know where Mako could get so much energy at all times but she envied her. Senketsu had been silent about yesterday, but she smirked that she had the upper hand at last! The arrogant President and her cronies would give her the answers about her father's murder or at least whatever they knew!

She was so deep in her plans she missed Mako stop at a corner. The girl was practically bouncing to stay in place but the act seemed part of her routine. Ryuko was about to ask when Mako took off like a missile away from the path to the lift car. Brushing a loch of her dark hair out of her eyes, Ryuko almost pitied whoever she was after.

Sure enough, she heard Mako quickly yell a greeting.

"SHO!" Instead of a collision however, she heard the familiar commotion she had with Mako to roll with the flying girl and get her land on two feet. She rushed around the corner to see a fairly tall boy, a year ahead of her maybe, smiling at Mako. If she had not had such dark thoughts a moment ago, she would have missed the furtive looks of his eyes.

 _He is looking for something but not wanting Mako to worry, maybe?_ She shook her head at the notion but the boy, Sho, kept looking. He saw her and relaxed a great deal as he attempted to guide the small maelstrom of positive energy that was Mako back to the lift car path.

"I see Mako has hit it off with you Matoi, I am Sho Fukamachi, pleasure to meet you." Instincts honed in many fights suddenly went wild at the calm introduction. She felt everything in her body scream to treat this boy carefully. Outwardly, the dark haired boy was the picture of a high schooler, and a No-Star to boot, but Ryuko trusted her instincts.

The odd thing was, there was this feeling that she had met him before but she could not say why.

"Ryuko is fine, Mako would prefer all first names from what I can gather." Her smile was real enough but as she grasped his hand she felt it. There was a something so similar in this boy to her but she could not tell what. Not until his whole face changed.

"I..uh…saw you yesterday, we all did I mean. I know it may seem odd having just met, but my deepest condolences on the loss of your father." She felt stunned and then she saw his eyes as he stood up from his bow. She saw a reflection of the pain she felt, but not the rage. It may have been there, but it was cooled now.

For once, she decided to keep things to herself and simply walk with her 2 new acquaintances at Honnouji Academy.

* * *

The blood was long dried from the murder, the former residents would be shocked to see 2 of the Elite 4, Gammagorri and Inumuta with the President Satsuki as well. The latter was barely keeping her rage in check as her pristine white uniform shone in the rising sun. Her sheathed sword did not tremble, but next to yesterday, this event was beyond acceptable.

"This was not an animal, nor was it human. The perpetrator had some kind of sharp, razor sharp, weapons with a larger pointed weapon, almost like a horn. Its strength is considerable and I would rate it extremely dangerous whatever it was. Further, the Guyver came later." That last bit caused Satsuki to widen her steel blue eyes a fraction.

The constant thorn in her side had not truly obstructed her plans, truly he seemed to simply defend the No-Stars from the more foolish upper echelons. His power was great, but she suspected none had truly seen it save Gammagorri. His ability to damage a 3 Star Goku uniform was very interesting.

"What did he do here?" Her voice was calm but she felt both her subordinates flinch. They knew her well, and they knew this murderer would be asking for mercy long before it was given.

"Likely what we are doing, the Guyver seems to like to involve himself in these things, but he was here fairly quickly as some of his footprints were filled in with blood." The Head of Information and Intelligence seemed calm, but none of them truly saw murder like this.

"Very well, find out who this was and see what the Guyver-" She felt it instantly. The glare of someone looking at her and staying out of sight. Gammagorri flung his whips into action but they found no target behind the fence as expected.

"You have good senses, but terrible aim for a human. Interesting weapons as well, I wonder what you plan to do with those?" A man with sunglasses looked down on them from a rooftop he had not been on a moment ago, Satsuki was sure. Further he was wearing simple clothes and not a Goku uniform.

Her keen eye saw no sign of any Life Fibers in this man's clothing, so how did he get up there?

"Did you do this craven act?" She felt a blink of surprise at her leap, but the feral grin confirmed it before his words.

"It was not meant for you, and it would seem I missed my prey in the night. The Guyver was faster than I anticipated, although he missed the others." The sick feeling of joy was emanating from the man, he was proud of what he said. Satsuki let her rage hone her blade and simply nodded at the other two. They would destroy this man.

She saw the flash of both activate there uniforms, but all froze as the man bulged suddenly. He was laughing the whole time as his clothes were shredded and pale flesh gave way to green scales. A towering monster with claws and horns looked down on them with yellow eyes.

"You will tell me all you know of the Guyver before you die, I am under orders by my masters to leave no witnesses." Gammagorri engaged his Shackle Regalia himself while Inumuuta began collecting the data.

Bakuzan was ready anytime, and Satsuki wanted this thing to feel her blade well. The world exploded as it crashed in front of them and seemed to not feel any of the whips coming at it. It seemed bored.

"Humans are strange here, but you are no match for the might of Chronos!" It moved faster than she could follow, but her followers were quick to adapt. They were strong, but this thing was beyond human and seemed unaffected by Gammagorri or any attack.

 _What is this thing and how do I kill it?_ The question was merely at the back of her mind but then all froze as a single word reverberated and a ball of light appeared from somewhere in the slums.

"GUYVER!"

* * *

They had been just about to board the lift train when the tower of smoke and the sounds of battle echoed to the 3. They were the last to go so the car would be blessedly empty but all looked at the odd event in the slums this early in the morning.

"No…not again!" Sho mumbled something but Ryuko swore he both paled and clenched his fists. He seemed to change, to shed, from a high school student to something else.

"Mako, get Ryuko and yourself up to the Academy, I will follow later..if I can." Sho moved but she grasped his wrist as he tried to pass her. "Ryuko, let me go, please!" The firmness in his voice brooked no argument, but she was not one to back down from a fight and a big one seemed to be likely brewing over there.

"Just what do you think you can do that you know I can't?" She thought she had trapped him. With Senketsu, there was nothing beyond her reach at the moment. He smiled at her and with surprising strength freed himself from her grasp as he jogged down the steps from the platform.

"I have my own claws as you should remember Ryuko, and Mako…I am sorry I did not tell you sooner." He turned on those odd words and then jumped as he yelled one word both knew well.

"GUYVER!" Bright light enveloped him and when it was gone, the blue armored man stood before them, his face vents exhaled air and his central silver eye glowed blue. On closer look, there were several silver orbs on the head, one at the belt and sharp bits at the elbows.

Before anyone could react, he was flying in the air!

"WHAAAAT?! Sho is the Guyver! That is amazing, I had no idea. Where does he hide that suit, is he like you and gets naked really fast?!" Mako was well on the way to compare Ryuko to Sho, but she was still in shock at the quick revelation.

The ding of the bell brought with it Mako dragging Ryuko on board before she could protest and they ascended to the Academy. Whatever Sho went to face, he went alone.

* * *

The annoyance of a man floated out of the sky and the green beast actually backed off in fear.

"Gregorl, what are you doing here and how are you here?!" A name was helpful for future reference but she saw something interesting. Always before, the Guyver had held a loose stance and seemed at ease, but now he stood with feet spread and arms raised, ready for combat. Further, his right arm seemed to have a blade protrude from its elbow.

"So Guyver I, you are here and alive. Dr. Balcus will be pleased. I am the first of many to come for you and we will take from this Earth as Chronos rules as it should. You will be defeated by our power Guyver!" The creature seemed to be rabid, but it kept its distance.

"How many?" The Guyver's voice was barely controlled rage as she saw the orbs on its head move. "How many did you kill trying to lure me out?!" The other blade extended out ward. Satsuki held back her men as they watched what was clearly a personal fight.

"Heh, heh. There were just so many of them and I was not a patient man before being optimized. Dr. Balcus' orders were clear, find you, kill you, and leave no witnesses. I know you like defending pathetic humans so I went after the weakest dozen or so I could find." It began to laugh as it circled to put the sun in the Guyver's eyes, but the blue armored being did not move.

Suddenly, his forehead glowed red and light shot at the monster from a rough angle, but it hit is mark and what whips could not cut, this light burned through. The monster was hurt, but not stopped. If anything it was clearly regretting this encounter.

"You think I will let you go you monster. You Zoanoids have killed so many innocent people, used so many people, and most of all," The Guyver's voice was incensed. "Most of all, you forced me to fight my own father! I will never forgive you monsters and I will never stop fighting Chronos!"

The Guyver moved like lightning, and the Gregorl quickly tried to run by hopping up into the blinding light.

"Let's go Smasher." Satsuki never took her eyes off of the Guyver as its chest opened and revealed 2 glowing pools of energy. It charged and and then unleashed a massive energy beam of light that was followed by the cry of the monster.

Before anyone could move, the Guyver took to the skies in its direction.

"Inumuta, follow him now!" Her minion quickly used his 3 Star uniform and put up a display that showed, incredibly, the monster had avoided total destruction.

"Heh, heh. It would seem I suffered more damage coming to this dimension than I thought Guyver I. I was optimized to fight a Guyver, but the travel needs an optimization tank to recover. We will find the Segawas, and Guyver III soon. They will all die…." The creature was dying and the Guyver just looked at it.

It suddenly burst into chemical blobs as its body was consumed from within.

"If you are watching this Elite, this is a Zoanoid, a human optimized for combat and completely subservient to monsters called Zoalords. Find out how they are arriving and I will stop them, I am the only thing that can." The Guyver took to the sky again and flew overhead. It paused to look at them, but then continued on up beyond the reach of Inumuta to follow it.

"So, he has never used his true strength against us, why?" Gammagorri was excellent at battle tactics, but not very imaginative to follow what had been said.

"From what I gather, he is here by accident and trying to leave. It is not Life Fibers, but something else entirely that makes him that strong. His terms were not helpful either but I noted them." Both looked to their President for the next orders.

"Gammagorri and I shall return to the school. Inumuta, you will do as the Guyver suggests and retrace that…thing's….steps here to find out where it started. I want answers and we have another annoyance to deal with as well." Her long dark hair contrasted with the sunlight and she seemed to shine more brightly.

Both men bowed and the school day began with many surprises.


	5. Chapter 5 - Enter the Nudist

_For 3 months Sho has been making his way on the different Earth he found himself on, but now a stark reminder that even here Chronos will still find him and more innocents killed that had no idea about Zoanoids or anything he faced. Worse for him, he felt more normal than he had in the last few peaceful months here at Honnouji Academy. The world around him was so fragile and had taught him how to control the Guyver in ways he could never do against Zoanoids._

 _Now he flies far from the gruesome reminder that was his life for so long and notes that Ryuko is not where she should be._

* * *

The Guyver strained its senses to find his target as he had noted only Mako in class without Ryuko. For Sho it was as if he walked throughout the entire Academy in a few moments but eventually he found her voice.

"Where are my clothes?!" Her voice and words prompted him to zero in and he found her in an abandoned supply closet far off the main hallways, likely used in the construction of the Academy. Not wanting to tempt too much fate, Sho found an open window near the room he wanted and went through the halls to his target.

* * *

"Your blood is the catalyst to awaken the kamui Ryuko." The syringe of her blood had indeed awakened Senketsu from his slumber, now she knew why he had not activated when the Tennis Club attacked Mako and herself.

The pins held her in place annoyingly but the sound of heavy foot falls made both Mikisugi, whose missing shirt was annoying with his slicked back hair being a far cry from his normal frumpy look, and Ryuko turn to the door of the room.

If flew off the hinges and slammed right next to window as the glass shattered. The Guyver loomed in the doorway, far wider than the door, it ducked inside.

"Let her go, now!" The distortion made his voice unrecognizable even to Ryuko but Mikisugi flinched at the clear threat and quickly removed the needles from Ryuko. Senketsu flew onto her, saving her dignity somewhat she hoped.

She was about to ask pointed questions when she registered the blood on the blue armor of the Guyver. The breath was also heavy, more than just exertion, but battle. Who had he fought and what had happened to them?

"I take it you had a row with our Student Council?" It was a fishing question, but the 2 eyes glowed brightly.

"We are leaving right now, do not follow us." The Guyver began to back up but the next sentence stopped him cold.

"You are much more confident in your pretty outfit Fukamachi." The Guyver blurred for the humans and Mikisugi was up against the wall. He was able to breathe but Ryuko thought the reaction a bit of overkill even for her humiliation being taken into account.

"You think I don't know the danger of the Student Council but you have NO idea what real monsters are! You think Satsuki is a problem, she is NOTHING compared to Arcenfel or Balcus. A Hyper-Zoanoid would flatten this school without even trying and they do not care who they hurt or kill to accomplish their goals!" The Guyver's central metal glowed blue before the suit opened up and seemed to reassemble with a hollow look before vanishing into midair. Neither Mikisugi or Ryuko had expected the haunted look on Sho's face.

"You know who I am now and you think that gives you power, but really my enemies know who I am already. They destroyed my family, my town, and my world. They keep trying to kill me and my loved ones because of my 'pretty outfit' you call it." Sho let the teacher down and the alarm sounded for the start of class. None of them moved but Sho seemed to have run out of steam.

Ryuko understood suddenly, why Sho seemed so similar and familiar, he had the same wound as her and the same problems. His father was gone and crazy powerful people kept coming after him. She tugged on his sleeve and began the walk to class for now.

* * *

Mikisugi gave them a five count before sprinting to his class back in his frumpy look. He had not expected the boy's reaction, if anything it was insane if not for 2 things. One, the 'suit' clearly came off and vanished into thin air was not Life Fibers in anyway, nor any technology he had heard of. Two, the eyes that boy had were far older than his years. The research he had done showed Fukamachi's parents were alive, but he had not thought to check something else and he did so now.

The handheld he used normally was troublesome if the Academy had its jamming up, but in this instance it was an official request for information and what it gave back nearly made Mikisugi stop cold.

Sho Fukamachi was attending school in Tokyo right now and the picture was identical to the boy he had just met! Something else was going on, something he had not considered. He made a note to request HQ look into this Fukamachi as soon as possible and any reference to the words that had just been burned into his mind.

* * *

Ryuko had little time to talk to Sho as Mako was missing from class. Without asking the pervert of a teacher for permission, she quickly found her staked to the ground and being pounded on again. Sighing that things never went easy, she tightened the new red glove on her hand and went into battle.

* * *

Sho was in a fog, so much so he barely noticed class emptying and he was alone. There was cheering and leering for something, but he just felt hollow. When Mikisugi had used his name, it had been too close to the taunts of the Zoanoids over the many battles. They always flaunted they knew who he was and they had ripped his life to tatters as they wanted until he finally was left to watch Mitzuki die or regain the ability to bio-boost.

He had made his choice but now this crazy situation was like he was back to the beginning. He had been fitting in, making friends, and maybe even thinking the nightmare was over, but Chronos would never stop. They wanted the power of the Guyver badly and the thought the Gigantic was at his fingertips both drove them to fear and tantalized them to get a unit even more.

How long before the battles he knew so well, would begin again? He would be all alone this time, no one to back him up or console him as he had to slaughter the monsters sent against him.

The sudden rumble brought him out of his internal struggle to see Ryuko with that scantily clad version of Senketsu wailing spikes out of the sky as the head of the Tennis Club tumbled towards her. As with the Boxing Club, her red half scissor blade shredded the 2 Star outfit and absorbed tiny red threads.

The devastation was awe inspiring to Sho. With that outfit, odd as it was, he could guess Ryuko was as strong as a Guyver, or maybe less with the clear limits it had. It also may be easily destroyed as well. A Hyper-Zoanoid could truly destroy this place.

Sho balled his fists as he swore to not allow that to happen. Ryuko faced off with Satsuki but then clouds filled the stadium as Mako and Ryuko fled the Academy grounds. The siren for the end of day sounded, but Sho felt someone behind him.

"What do you want?" Sho spoke as the veteran Guyver he was. Gone was the boy he had been happy to immerse himself back in, Sho the Student had been lost again today.

Mikisugi was in frumpy mode but his slouched form belied the confidence Sho had seen. Why that included losing clothes he had no idea but maybe it did not matter anymore.

"Who are you?" The question was clear with an unspoken threat to not lie. Sho smirked at the thought someone other than a Zoanoid could threaten him.

"I am Sho Fukamachi, son of deceased Fumio Fukamachi after he was turned into Enzyme II to try and kill me, the Guyver I. I fight against the forces of Chronos, an organization that has taken over the world and will force humanity to become subservient to them as pawns or optimized minions called Zoanoids. I am not of your Earth and you have no power that can stop me." Sho felt like a wound was being lanced as he spoke. He had walked on eggshells for so long that if felt good to say all the words and the last was simply the vent of his frustration. Truthfully it was easy to stop him, you just had to know how.

The long bored sigh was followed by a movement of Mikisugi's hand Sho barely saw. The needle struck him and Sho could not move or speak. The grin on the teacher's face gave way to gaping shock as the Guyver appeared and enveloped Sho.

"Good try, but I only yell out of habit, I can summon the suit at will." That skill had taken a long time to realize for both Agito and Sho, but had come in handy lately. Both still would reflexively call it out, but need not.

"I see, then you are definitely not made of Life Fibers or know anything about them?" The term meant nothing to Sho. "The Goku uniforms, Senketsu and so forth, those are clothes made of Life Fibers and Satsuki and her parent company Revocs make them. They run this place to train people to use them as you describe your Zoanoids. Interested in stopping them?"

The Guyver looked at the outstretched hand of the teacher and for a moment wanted to take it. He wanted to be part of something again, but Ryuko and Mako flashed through his mind and he simply walked passed Mikisugi as he dismissed the Guyver.

"I am already part of something, maybe another time." Sho went in search of his new friend and his old one. "Piece of advice, if you see anyone in dark jumpsuits with a white helmet running around…come find me quickly. Very quickly."

It was the only warning he could give, a man in a suit was not very helpful, but if they wore the standard gear, a Chronos agent would stand out.

Mikisugi looked confused, but nodded. It was interesting times for all, to be sure.

* * *

 _At the edge of the slums, a clawed hand protruded from midair….._


	6. Chapter 6 - Flames of Chronos

_Times have become chaotic and fast paced for all at Honnouji Academy. The Student Council realizes the true depth of the Guyver's power, while Nudist Beach begins to understand that Sho Fukamachi is more than just a random agent in the fight against Life Fibers._

 _Ryuko and Mako have just escaped back to Mankanshoku home after facing the Tennis Club President._

* * *

The main dish of Mako's house was always and forever the croquettes of mysterious things. Ryuko had learned not to ask about them too deeply but they were good. She was famished from her sudden battle and the drain of activating Senketsu. He needed far too much blood to work and the time for battle was limited.

Mataro's short head poked up as he looked at Ryuko with a blush. She refrained from hitting him at the moment as honestly she could not hit him for looking at her when she was in public dressed like that. It was truly humiliating but it was the only way to have the power to stand up to those arrogant bastards she fought against.

A flash of a blood stained blue armor went through her mind and the blush vanished. She had only had to strip two of her foes thus far, odd as that was, of their dangerous uniforms. Satsuki, however, seemed to be a much more serious battle when next they fight.

Guts suddenly stopped diving into the food with his pug snout and began wagging hard at the shack door. Mako did not miss a beat of the conversation constantly going on at the dinner table while she whipped up and opened the door on a very forlorn Sho.

The conversation did stop then. Even the Mankanshoku's, for all their frivolity, could feel the wave of grim emotions coming from the dark haired youth. The fact that he could pierce the oblivious family was a testament to his worth to them. Ryuko had been adopted quickly by them as well but she saw a very different boy from the first few days here. Gone was a slightly carefree but likable boy who quietly helped with homework or enjoyed Mako's reactions, and instead stood someone clearly tired.

"Sorry I am late Mako, Ryuko. I was wondering if you could come outside for a bit." Sho was not ordering them but it was clear he expected them to come. He backed out slowly into the alley but only far enough to be out of earshot.

Ryuko followed a bouncing Mako to the boy. Unlike when they met at class or any of the walks up to the academy, Sho was looking at the skyline of the buildings, as if expecting something.

* * *

"I will keep this short but it is too late to stop associating with you to protect you. My….I guess you would call them enemies, have found a way to come here. It means I might have a way home, but the long and short of it is this: I am not from this Earth." He spoke calmly and clearly, as sanely sounding as he had in Mikisugi's secret office.

"WHAT?!" Mako's voice could be used to call in airplanes. Even so, she quickly clammed up when his dark eyes looked at her. He seemed to be begging for quiet.

"I was fighting something new called Void, made by a horrible man called Dr. Balcus," Ryuko knew immediately this Balcus had something to do with Sho's father. The emphasis on the name was full of old anger. "I tried to summon an enhancement to the Guyver but it was stopped partway. I think they were trying to destroy it or cause damage to the Guyver so I could not use it. Either way, things seemed to go a surprising way for us all. I remember the world going to a pinprick of light as wild colors flowed all around me. Then I was flung into the water just at the edge of Honno Town." Sho mentioned how he first encounter Gammagorri and the disciplinary squad harassing Mako.

Sho just kept talking, about the last 3 months and learning there was another him out there with both parents alive. It ate him up, but they were not his family. He used what few skills on the run from Chronos had taught him to seem like he had transferred to the Academy to try and get answers.

He talked about nightmares of men that could turn into monsters and even more powerful monsters made by their Lords. He just kept going and even talked about someone he clearly cared for and her brother. Ryuko and Mako just stood there and never doubted Sho. Anyone else it would have been insanity, but in that moment it was the Guyver telling them.

Ryuko was unsure how Mako's wide eyes were taking it, but she felt a kindred spirit that walked a far darker path than her own.

"It means more are coming though, more Zoanoids and they will find out I am at the school and come after that too. Ryuko, I need you to promise me you will protect the students so I can fight as I have to. The Guyver can stop most Zoanoids, even in small groups, and I have an ace up my sleeve if I need it." Sho was raw from talking and Mako zipped away and back with water. Her parents and brother peered out with Guts small black eyes looking as well.

Whatever Ryuko might have said was lost in the next instant as en explosion rocked Honno Town.

"NO! Not again! I will not allow this again!" Sho ran down the alleyway and into darkness. Not long after they both heard the telltale word that he engaged his armor.

 _Are you going after him Ryuko?_ Senketsu was not against it but she had barely recovered.

"Yes we are, Mako get back in the house and stay there!" Mako nodded once and ran back to the house. Ryuko followed after Sho but did not change into Synchronization Mode. She had to pick that moment carefully.

* * *

Sho flew far above the town and saw the carnage unleashed. Black forms rushed everywhere, but he was hunting for the source of the fire. In these close quarters it would become a disaster if it continued.

"Guyver I we have found you!" Several distorted voices reached him and Sho saw another Gregorl, a Rammateth, and a Vamor. The trio made a good base combo for long, short, and defense attacks. It also meant that Balcus was getting better at sending Zoanoids over very quickly. He had to find where they were coming in.

"Normally I would wait for my President to give orders, but in this case I will back you up by cutting off their escape." The voice came from nowhere, but then a slight distortion was picked out by the Guyver. The slim Inumuta of the Elite 4 was still in town it seemed.

"That will be fine." Extending his armblades, Sho went to work.

* * *

Ryuko saw the Guyver dive from the skies into the fire. She could not get much closer to it as she was.

"Going somewhere little girl?" A man in shades at night was never a good sign, but the aura of danger was heightened, and the fresh words of her friend rang a deeper warning. Without waiting, she pulled the blade from the red glove and transformed.

The shock on his face was normal but the reaction to her scissor blade was too fast. His eyes glowed suddenly and it was like he was shedding the human skin as something dark emerged from inside.

It became some kind of walking fish creature with a vertical mouth and sharpened teeth. The truly shocking moment was when it simply blocked her blade. The weapon so effective against 2 Star outfits had not even caused it to pause. Its shock was clear too however when it hit at her exposed midriff did not seem to bother her at all.

"That outfit change did something to you, you should be in that wall right now." The distorted voice was more disturbing as the mouth did not move to make it. Ryuko knew that, she felt Senketsu pulling a lot of blood.

 _Ryuko, you only have a few minutes before you pass out. Win quickly._ The warning was not appreciated as she glared blue steel at the monster, but her attacks just did nothing and her defense would quickly be gone.

Suddenly the fire went out and a body came flying into the alley, or what was left of what seemed like a huge shouldered creature with only one leg and arm left. It was spilling guts and blood but then quickly foamed over and disintegrated in front of Ryuko's eyes!

"That is my cue to leave, catch you later strange human!" The monster turned on webfeet to leap, but red light flashed out of the sky and pierced its skin easily. It screamed in pain as it fell on its useless legs.

"You will not get any farther Chronos scum!" The anger in Sho's voice was terrifying. Compared to before, this was not a man, but a monster in human shape. It was worse that she knew him, but before she could call out, he leaped forward with shining blades on his elbows and the monster that gave her so much trouble flew apart.

Like the other body, it quickly began to evaporate as well.

Letting her Kamui slip back to sailor form, Ryuko watched the heaving form in the alley with her. She could see he was shaking in the fingers and began to hear the tears.

"Mama! Help me!" The voice made the Guyver whirl and the spheres on its head began to move very quickly. With a leap, he was airborne and flying back into the dying fires. A small form began to be visible to Ryuko, just barely hanging on to an exposed window sill.

The child began to scream but Sho got it down to the ground safely before flying off again. It was not covered in any blood, a small boy cried before a woman came rushing in relief to find her boy safe.

 _He is not a cold blooded killer, it weighs on him and he protects the helpless when he can. This night will be filled with many in need._ Senketsu was right, Sho had clearly killed these monsters before, but it was not part of his nature to just relish it. He would fight as he needed to, but no more. Now, he would go to help who he could, with the power he had.

Making up her mind to be more supportive, Ryuko suddenly felt a chill pass over her before she realized it was Senketsu himself. It felt like goosebumps and she knew she would have a long night as well.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Dr Balcus stood at the monitoring station long after it had gone dark. As he had learned with Aptom, he could enhance his telepathic signal with technology. Here it was employed to give a better link to this odd situation of an alternate Earth. The strange girl with red streaked hair had somehow had comparable power to a Zoanoid with a change in her clothes.

Still, he had his confirmation, Guyver I was there and perfectly healthy. More, he seemed to have found powerful allies and if they could find their way here, Chronos would be imperiled.

Unlike Richard Guyot, Balcus thought better of sending more Zoanoids through the breach. He was risking all their plans it seemed on a fruitless endeavor. The Guyver I and the Gigantic were beyond Guyver III's reach, thus Chronos should focus on the known and reachable enemy. All the better if Guyver I ever came back to find a fully optimized planet he could never win back and the graves of his friends waiting for him.

Stroking his long beard, the ancient Zoalord went to report to the Council that one threat was effectively neutralized for the foreseeable future.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

"Report Inumuta." Satsuki was standing proudly with her Bakuzan and an oddly similar white outfit counter part to Matoi's kamui. She smiled in her eyes about something certainly.

"I worked with the Guyver to contain the fire and the creatures that started it, one like we faced before and 3 others of varying and disturbing strength. They were laughing at the chaos created but he efficiently eliminated them, if somewhat brutally. I have a fair gage of his power—" The pause had the 3 Council members and Satsuki herself turn to him. He cleared his throat for this part.

"If I am correct, he could level this building in one shot and still be able to fight for a considerable amount of time." This piece of information was more than disturbing as the identity of the Guyver remained unknown, but his constant appearances near the Academy narrowed it to a student. "His power is definitely not from Life Fibers either, but I do not know the source."

This news cause a raised eyebrow on the pale face of the president.

"However, due to this second incident and the pattern of movement of the first creature, I found something interesting and near where the Guyver was also first encountered." Inumuta clicked the small gold box in his hand and all the monitors switched on or showed the graphic measurements of a distortion in space.

"It barely registers and I had to augment the image to make it visible for this display, but it is there at about ten feet in the sky," at this the glasses were pushed up on his brow, "Further, I think with some study I could reverse the flow and we could repay our visitors for their antics."

All in the room felt the shame of this invasion, worse that it took so few of these creatures to lay waste to most of Honno Town. Satsuki knew they were on a strict timetable however and now that they knew where these things would arrive, as intelligence director, Inumuta knew what orders would be given.

"Assign 2 Stars to guard it and begin your research, but we stick to our plans for the other schools and confronting Matoi for now." The missing person from her orders was a surprise, but then his President truly surprised him.

"If any of those creatures come through again, set an alarm at the school off with an image to go to all rooms and hallways. If the Guyver truly wants to stop them, he will rush to our aid." Despite the malice in her words, Inumuta suspected that the Council would not be crushing the Guyver anymore. He had protected the town twice and his power was undeniable. Clearly it was time to try and recruit the interloper.


	7. Chapter 7 - Enter Gigantic

_Both Satsuki and Ryuko have witnessed and appreciate the power of the Guyver, only Mako and Ryuko truly know that it is Sho Fukamachi in the armor. The second Zoanoid incursion was far more devastating to quickly draw the Guyver out for Balcus to assess him. The Zoalord has decided to cut his losses for now and refocus on Guyver III._

 _This information is unknown to the Guyver I and Satsuki, both of whom want the Zoanoids to pay for the lost lives and terror inflicted, move forward with their plans with their own goals. First however, Ryuko must face Satsuki once more, but this time with a surprise she is not ready for._

* * *

Sho felt the ache in his body from lack of sleep only. The Guyver had odd benefits to avoid sore muscles or the more expected cost of heavy labor, but sleep it could not compensate for. Worse, it could make him sleep longer if it was a truly strenuous battle. Compared to Relic's Point, or any battle he truly had to wear the Gigantic for any length of time, last night was easy. Sadly it did nothing for his emotional strains of the night before either.

It bothered him to think of it that way, but for all the damage wrought, Inumuta of the Elite 4 had already moved most of the population away from an area where the murders had occurred. Sho suspected the rip Balcus used had an exit there, but as he himself had no way to reverse or even find it, searching was pointless for now.

He had noted on the way to the cable car that Honno Town now had an abundance of 2 Star Disciplinary students patrolling. At least the Student Council was taking the threat seriously, a 1 Star stood no chance against any Zoanoid.

Ryuko looked as tired as he felt, and he could have sworn the eye on her outfit looked at him directly before closing once. The fact that it was alive in a very different way from the Guyver was still an adjustment, but the Goku uniforms in general had been shocking at first.

Of the 3 of them, the non-stop chatter of Mako was actually comforting. She was in the middle of telling them both to get more sleep when Sho became aware of the silence.

The Academy was many things that were odd, but the one similarity to a school was the usual milling of the crowd getting to class. Now there were students lining the main grounds with white flags and Goku uniforms making an open path to a red set of stairs.

Ryuko was sighing as Sho made out the President descending from on high, seeming to glow with the early morning sun.

"Sho, Mako. Get out of here and find somewhere safe." Sho understood the blue eyed glance at him and he nodded, Mako was safer than she could be with him.

The Elite 4 watched from a platform above the crowd and Sho just noticed the 2 women exchange words before a blue and red flare had his jaw drop.

Satsuki had a Kamui!

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Agito was in the 3rd base of Zeus' Thunderbolts that Chronos had yet to find. He had sacrificed too many men on the 1st base but the 2nd had been a masterful trap for the Hyper-Zoanoids sent to kill them all.

For 4 months, Chronos had been still pursuing them but not as strongly as he knew they could. It reminded him of the first few months after X Day. They had been too busy with running the world and sorting out the chaos to really focus on them. That chaos had been time well spent by his forces.

The Guyver III was still a high priority target, but not leaving any Zoanoid survivors and hacking the video feeds had kept it hard to find him. Those same traits helped now.

Segawa had good news at last and he had confirmation a few days ago to go with it. It had been odd how the Guyver I and Gigantic had vanished in that battle. It had looked so similar to the dimensional shift as before that he was certain Fukamachi would show up in a few days.

When he had not, Segawa had begun digging. Surprisingly his time at Relic's Point and the general knowledge from Chronos had given them the answer he needed.

The dimensional bridge the Guyver and Gigantic cross to equip to the user was interfered with. In a Guyver it was too fast or likely too many unknowns to try the same attack again, but the Gigantic had a long pause in its equip state Balcus found a way to abuse.

Last night, while on a mission with his own Guyver, Agito very clearly felt a spike pass through his connection that Sho had done before. Something extreme had caused it, but it was the most reassuring thing he had felt since Guyver I vanished. It had also felt very far away because no direction came with it.

Segawa tracked all wavelengths and found only 1 event that matched that time of night. Chronos had set up a small facility at the battlefield Guyver I vanished and last night 4 Zoanoids had gone in and seemingly vanished as well.

"I am sure Makishima, there was a disruption on the same wavelength as before a few nights ago. It is similar to when you summon the Guyver but way more powerful." The large boy was smiling ear to ear as the months worth of beard was clearly unkempt and the bags under his eyes begged for sleep.

"Very well, Fukamachi is alive but in some kind of dimensional pocket like the Guyver when it is disengaged—" The grinning face began to shake _no_ hard, then he got dizzy. Agito grabbed him to steady him, but then the light in the eyes popped up from the small bout.

"No way. If that was all it was, the Gigantic or the Guyver would likely have returned Sho to a stable landing. The kind of power I am talking about Agito could breach one world to the next. It may be how the Creators traveled for all we know!" That thought was a bit more troubling.

If Fukamachi was on another planet, how were we to find him or get him back?

A further thought brought his planning mind to a halt. The words Segawa had used, a safe landing. If that was true, and given what they had seen of the Guyver's priority for its user's survival, what kind of world had it aimed for? Nothing in this solar system.

Alarms began to go off on Segawa's watch. He whirled and rushed back to his lab. Agito followed and saw his sister was there as well, a much healthier color since learning for certain Sho was alive.

"What is it?" The equipment was not hooked to security so it was something Tetsuo had been studying. The monitors were going into a red zone on some of the meters.

"I have no idea but that wavelength I told you about is getting feedback from that same facility on the same scale. Something is making a contrary wave form, but it is definitely not possible for the Guyver to do this. Sho and I have been pushing the Gigantic to its limits to learn all it can do, and this is not in its skill set, at least I don't think so." As quickly as it began, the meters dropped down again.

"The surge is dying down, but something is on the other side of a an open rip or something there Agito, and Sho is on the other side as well!" Tetsuo looked triumphant before passing out at his console.

* * *

The klaxon stopped as the readings became normal, but Balcus stared in shock at the numbers. Something on the other side of that tear had caused a disruption to the dimensional energies. It had nearly broken through before it fell back to normal levels. Just when he had thought the danger safely locked away, the Guyvers proved yet again they are better at the Creator's technology than the Zoalords.

 _This will require re-evaluation and a more firm plan if the Guyver I truly returns._ He still felt sending more Zoanoids through would be foolish now, so defense would become his best option. Still, if he could recreate the power of Void and control it, that would be the most viable option.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

Sho watched the devastation as Ryuko and Satsuki fought. Their power was what he imagined it must be for people to watch 2 Guyvers battle. The barely covered forms were occasionally distracting, but the raw power was what caught all. The school had become chaos and Sho was doing his best to keep Mako safe, or he would have transformed long before now to stop the fight.

Ryuko was losing. He could see it clearly that Satsuki understood something about a kamui Ryuko did not. She was launched into the left wing, thankfully all the students were all out on the grounds and not in the building as it was ripped apart form the inside.

Sho noted that Senketsu reverted to sailor uniform mode and he told Mako to stay out of sight. She nodded wide eyed and he slid into more than enough chaos to become what was needed.

* * *

Satsuki felt the power flow from Junketsu into her body. This was being more than alive as she looked down at the pathetic Matoi. That she had activated her kamui first was now irrelevant. She knew _nothing_ about how to use her Senketsu.

As she was about to deliver the final blow, the expected interference did not come, but instead another student.

* * *

Sho watched in shock as Mako, among various embarrassing things, told Ryuko to get naked and not worry about things. It made no sense to him, but in the next minute, Ryuko shot up and transformed again.

He immediately used the Guyver to evaluate her condition and noticed this Life Fiber Synchronization mode was cleaner than previous attempts. The outfit was still barely there, but before it had been clear to him that it looked out of sync compared to the cleaner sailor uniform mode.

He smiled to see Ryuko shoot forward and get the upper hand, but the power of the 2 kamui was causing devastation he could not accept.

The 2 women charged and Sho did something he had not done in some time, be very reckless.

* * *

Satsuki saw her Bakuzan close in on the red Scissors blade, only to suddenly see nothing but blue. She felt her blade sink into something and blood spurted as dust clouded her vision. Matoi also had her blade make the same sound to her ears.

A vibration in the air cleared the smoke and she felt shock at what she saw, the Guyver had his 2 hands sliced to the wrist by each blade.

"No!" Matoi's shock was interesting but Satsuki was intrigued. He had interfered knowing these blades could cut him, but then she noticed, the blades had missed the blue armor on each hand and hit the dark flesh beneath.

"That is enough!" Anger was in his voice and he whirled quickly, yanking both blades from their hands. The crowd was silent as the Guyver floated up and with seeming indifference, removed the blades from each hand gingerly. Clearly in pain, but then shock hit her.

He was healing!

"You dare interfere with our Lady!" Gammagorri bellowed but was quickly silenced by a red beam slicing the platform beneath them into pieces. Clearly the Guyver was at the end of his patience.

"You did not find the charred bodies last night nor held a child you knew was going to die. I have watched death take far too many to be bothered by much of what you do here, but THIS!" He waved his arms out to the whole of the grounds encircled by the normally white walls now shattered and broken. Students were alive but some clearly injured.

"You have no right—" Sanageyama was cut short by the upraised hand of Satsuki, she wanted to hear his words.

"You have proof that Ryuko Matoi has mastered her kamui and I assume you have understood that Satsuki is on par of a different level. If either of you continue this fight, I will destroy these blades right now!" He had the power, it was clear he knew he was stronger than the material of those blades. The loss of one sword would be bothersome, that one especially, but she understood his issue.

"I apologize for this display after the tragedy of last night. I appreciate the efforts you put forth to defend Honno Town and hope you will continue to handle our…infestation…problem if it comes up again." Her words were humble, but the tone was not. "However, in this place I am in charge and Matoi has made clear her intent to stand up to my authority. I must respond in kind."

She clicked her heel hard and assumed her normal posture of command.

"You will return our blades as you understand I can just make more and the sentimental value for Matoi would be quite devastating to such a fragile girl." The reaction from Matoi was perfect, rage was now stoked and it brought it home. Before she could speak, the Guyver was not done.

"GIGANTIC!" The air distorted behind the Guyver with a massive shell opening and a larger version of the Guyver enveloped the blue armored boy. It was a massive increase in mass but Satsuki felt her uniform rustle with tension.

The hum of the new armor was clear and the silver orbs on the massive head moved as if looking for something.

"I want to be clear where we stand in this Student Council President. What I am called is the only word the Creators had for something abnormal, not expected, or out of control. They never saw what I have done with this power or what I have had to fight. You may think this is your world, but you are wrong." The chest area opened and Satsuki felt fear trickle in her spine. It was bigger than the last time she had seen it, but the weapon had to be similar.

Energy began to coalesce into each chest orb until it began to glow like 2 suns and blasted upward with such force that both Satsuki and Ryuko were forced to the ground just from being close to it, the Guyver did not move.

"For the record, I missed all satellites and planes just now and the moon," the calm way he added that last part left no doubt he could indeed hit it. The massive armor retracted and the blue armor with the blades was exposed. He dropped both to each woman.

Satsuki understood. He had no need to assert power, he knew he had it and had held off on using it until it was needed. She also felt a trickle of fear to know what kind of man could wield that power and not assert his will before now was highly uncommon.

"I apologize for my rudeness, but watching a young life die again was not easy for me. The thought I would see either of you die was not acceptable to me or anyone else here." She re-evaluated the return of her blade. He had made his point and saw fear all around him. He was not a monster, but he valued some moral code above asserting his will.

"I can accept that reason for your actions and equally offer a true apology. I have taken steps for those families already but I did not know you were there with them at the end," the words were a different tone, but still steel. It was as close to acknowledgment he would get. The laughter from him was unexpected.

"I have a fellow Guyver like you, I wonder—" The thought of another one like this man was a cause for fright, but then he walked to Matoi.

"You going to keep lecturing me too with her?" The anger and resentment was taken easily by the Guyver it seemed. Like Satsuki however, she had softened at the mention of the dying child.

"I should have mentioned it I suppose but I am used to fighting alone. You saw me as I was last night, fighting monsters to the death. The innocent have paid the price for my fight but it has been so long and now twice in as many days I have been left with death again. I will not apologize for stopping this fight, but I will apologize for standing in your way. She is all yours." The surprise on Matoi's face was interesting but both watched the Guyver float into the sky.

"This school of yours, the ideals you have, I am going to tear them down!" The declaration broke the tension and Satsuki smiled for real. The rage of this girl and her challenge was more the battlefield she relished.

* * *

Mikisugi was collecting his jaw from the floor as Satsuki declared that all the clubs would be after Ryuko from now on. He suspected after that little show by the Guyver there would be a lot of deep thinking. He had known that armor was powerful, but what he had just seen put a kamui to shame.

If Nudist Beach could latch onto that power, maybe the fight against the Life Fibers would not be so desperate after all.


	8. Chapter 8 - Ryuko's Bargain

_In the battle against the Zoanoids, Sho found the loss of innocence once again. His raw emotions lead him to an arrogant encounter with Satsuki but he also knew he had to stop the wanton destruction the 2 kamuis were capable of producing._

 _The day has ended but he remains in the Guyver at the edge of Honno Town._

* * *

 _I am beginning to be like Makishima._ The thought was not a good one for Sho. He had unleashed the Gigantic and made arrogant claims he knew were beyond his power to produce. Even with the Gigantic, he knew there were limits to his power. Senketsu seemed to have power to burn now, but Sho had seen the no Star students running for cover as the school yard was ripped asunder.

It was a bit normal for Honnouji Academy, but even so, he could not stand aside with people in danger.

He felt Ryuko, still in full Synchronization mode, come up behind him.

"I have been expecting you Transfer Student." Sho kept his tone neutral. With the Guyver, he could feel Inumuta's eyes watching him. Whether she would understand his tone or not was quickly answered as he was hit in the gut.

Unlike any other 2 Star or 1 Star, Sho felt that hit hard. Ryuko looked up at him with angry sapphire blazing and the red streaks to her hair stood out more in this mode. Even exhausted as she must be from the battle, to have that much strength left was amazing.

"Don't interfere in my fight with those uppity bastards and their school." Her words were laced with repressed rage but something else mixed in. Sho used one of his helmet orbs to follow her sight to the mounds behind him. It was why he had come as well.

Even with so few people left, some were missed or simply in a panic had made terrible decisions. The charred remains would have needed a facility to identify them, but the Guyver gave him horrific detail when it looked at mounds of cloths and burnt flesh.

Sho thanked whatever Gods were listening it was so few, but the last one had still been barely alive when he found him.

"So long as you take into account the innocent around you, the fights you do are yours Transfer Student." That was absolutely true. Ryuko could fight better than he ever could to be honest. Her in a Guyver was a frightening thought.

 _You should tell him what you are thinking Ryuko._ The male voice was very faint to Sho, as if it was just barely registering. He did not react too much, but sending out his senses he found no one else was there to speak. Focusing on Senketsu he saw the eye look at him intensely and at Ryuko.

She sighed and the red glow covered her as the sailor uniform, the worse for wear, was on her again. Unlike the previous times she had disengaged Senketsu, she seemed ok not wiped out.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" She put her hands together and bowed before the makeshift graves. Sho shrugged but in the Guyver the motion was not as easy to see.

"While I can't say you didn't deserve to know, neither of us could save them. I have had to watch a whole town wiped out because my fellow Guyver saw no other way to save them, I have watched in agony as a good friend was torn apart by a monster, and worst of all—" Sho stopped as he had been about to tell a story no one needed to hear.

Ryuko glanced at him but the Guyver afforded him some easy methods of having a poker face.

"It does not matter. I will not interfere in your fights, but equally that means you will mind where your fights are, agreed?" He held out his hand and Ryuko looked at it for a long time. He was not sure what made her pause, but she shook his hand and he took to the skies to find somewhere safe to release the Guyver.

* * *

Ryuko watched the spec of the Guyver fade into the sky and wondered what she really knew about Sho. For a moment though, the part he had not said once again made her think of her father. She sighed heavily that too many troublesome things were going on here, all she wanted was the truth and to smack that ever arrogant smirk from Satsuki's face.

* * *

 _True to his word, Sho stood aside as the many clubs attacked Ryuko, even allowing Mako to become involved. He saw Ryuko gain in confidence and skill with Senketsu. He never heard the voice again, but he was convinced the Guyver had allowed him to hear the kamui somehow._

* * *

Sho was up in the classroom for lunch today. He had enjoyed many lunches with Ryuko and Mako since she had come here, but today was just after another battle and truly he could see the 2 girls were bonding far better than he to anyone. Mikisugi had blessedly left as well, but the last reason was during class some commotion had happened over by the gardening club and he wanted to take a deeper look.

Mako had not questioned his request for some access to the supplies cabinet, she was on cleaning duty later due to some punishment. He saw through the binoculars that the garden had been wiped out, but Ryuko had been here with him which left a worrying possibility. However, if a Zoanoid had come to the school, Sho was certain Satsuki would have called for the Guyver.

The lack of his appearance in the last few months was attributed to the new champion, Ryuko. Compared to the fierce Guyver, and the obvious appeal of her outfit, Ryuko was preferred by many. Honestly he had some thoughts that Ryuko was stronger than him, but the question was recovery and damage issues. The Guyver could take hideous amounts of damage, even lethal to him, and keep going.

His random thoughts came to an end when he heard Mako's name called across the yard. Whipping his enhanced view to the main lunch area, he saw Ryuko over the prone form of Mako. A strange guy with a mohawk was aiming an odd gun at both. It was odd because the magazine coming out of it looked more like needles than bullets.

Amazingly, he saw the strange man quickly lock Ryuko down and stop her from transforming. The risk was far too great, but Sho could not hold back now. Hoping he would not be seen due to the distraction, Sho ran at the window.

* * *

Ryuko felt fear trickle through her veins, but this pervert would not get her to take Senketsu off, even with the kamui's recent breach of personal info etiquette. The tinkle of glass reached her ears before the man jumped aside from a blue fist.

The Guyver stood over her now and vented mist out of his face. He must have just transformed.

"What are you?" The pervert mohawk guy was not fazed by the reverse of events. Ryuko saw the Guyver stayed still, as if waiting for something.

If her hands were free, she would have smacked herself, he was waiting for her to get off the ground! Removing the locking weapon from her red gloved hand, Ryuko quickly got up and transformed.

"I don't know who you are, but you can't take us both on." Ryuko did her best to keep her rattled nerves in control but with the Guyver there, it was easier. He had kept his word and stayed out of the battle she waged, but this was different. The risk to him was great as well, if the Elite 4 had been watching, they may now have his identity.

A flicker of silver streaked across her vision and landed on the outstretched hand of the pervert. He glared at it as if it was extremely annoying and then uncocked his gun and walked off.

"I will be back to strip you tomorrow." His confidence was unshakable, but Ryuko knew she could fight him with the Guyver easily.

"This is going to be a problem." Ryuko looked at the Guyver confused, but then she saw them. The Elite 4 were looking down at the lunch yard. They were not smiling but the glare at the Guyver was clear and her. They turned and moved on to the central tower.

"They got close didn't they?" Ryuko kept her voice low but she saw his nod. She understood she would be facing this opponent alone next time.

"Midnight, where we met." The Guyver took to the sky. Wondering how he would get back to school, Ryuko pondered where that was, as Sho or the Guyver. She would find out at midnight.

* * *

Satsuki watched the Guyver float out of the Academy once again. Inumuta assumed at this point that the orbs on the body were not just for show, but highly attuned sensing devices that watched for spying. Even with his network extended, they had yet to see the face beneath the armor, but today had been very close.

The foolish naked ape had been too distracting and the breach of security as well required that attention, but she felt rage rise at not catching this thorn in her side. Matoi was proving effective at her weeding out of the pathetic and weak, but this would be a good test for her as well. She watched as her Elites walked in and began to scheme how best to use this new opportunity.

* * *

Night was on Honno Town, and from far above Sho watched the lights and people moved. It was a calculated risk tonight, but in the slums there was far less surveillance than at the school. He saw the dark hair of Ryuko enter the crossroad and smiled.

She felt like punching a wall for stress relief but shortly heard the hum of the Guyver as it descended from the sky. Senketsu looked in curiosity as Sho remained in the armor.

"I will not be able to help you tomorrow, and he will be there tomorrow, but I can help you now. Transform." Arching her eyebrows at him, she pulled the slot on her glove and had barely finished before the Guyver was in her face.

He was moving faster and more complex moves than she could totally follow. She barely dodged and brought the scissor out as well to deflect his own blades. He never explained and just kept attacking and she could barely keep up.

 _Was he always this strong?_ Senketsu was not helping with that question. Suddenly, Ryuko got fed up with this sudden attack. She felt rage flow and it was like a switch flipped. She began to deflect more and instead of just reacting, planning on how to overcome the difference in their strengths.

She finally flipped her scissor and it sliced neatly through his vibrating blade.

The shock of that success stopped Ryuko cold, but then she was flying into a wall. She had not even registered the hit to her stomach until it was all over.

"Not bad Transfer Student, but you should not let success surprise you, nor let an attack go on so long you have no strength to fight back." She could feel the smirk under that armor and she would slap him later for certain.

"How do you feel?" She wanted to shout, but then she realized what had happened.

"Huh…I feel normal you nitwit." She was not going to give him credit for a basic idea. How he had known how she was feeling was a mystery, but her fears were gone. A timid spirit would be dangerous in the battles she was fighting and he had purged that from her.

"Then this was worthwhile. Sleep and know I will be cheering from the sidelines." She knew that meant he would be nearby, but it also meant what he said too, she would be alone.

He was about to take off when she knew she had to say something.

"Guyver! Thanks for the swift kick to the head, but if you are needed for the no Stars, don't hold back." He nodded at her and then flew off into the night. Sighing that life was too mushy at times, Ryuko went off to sleep.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Dr Balcus was called a genius, but he just felt he had lived a long time and earned the wisdom of his centuries. However, just this once, he felt he earned the title.

It would take longer than the first time, but he had found a way to access Void one more time. A piece of dead crystal had been found with a few living cells deep inside were viable. The optimization tank was working as fast as it could, but it would be close to five months before it was done, maybe longer or maybe less.

It was uncharted territory once more for the Zoalord, but the Guyver I was now not safe and a contingent of Hyper-Zoanoids were being brought along as well. An Enzyme would be best, but its weaknesses could not be overcome for the journey needed.

For the first time in a long while, Balcus began to laugh.


	9. Chapter 9 - Ryuko's Friends

_The Guyver has given Ryuko a kick to her confidence to face the mysterious attacker, but also warned he cannot help without revealing who he is to the Student Council. She accepts the bargain and offers one of her own to him, to keep the innocent safe if things get out of hand. They would deal with the rest together._

 _The dawn of the new day finds Ryuko waiting patiently for her hunter and Senketsu notes she is not wavering as she had been yesterday._

* * *

Sho gripped the edge of his desk tightly as the sounds of explosions began. Mikisugi continued class after one glance out the window. A frown had been on his face, but aside from that he went on with world history.

Mako was still on cleaning duty later today and it seemed the battle would drag out as well. It stayed clear of the actual class rooms but occasionally the floor rumbled. It took all Sho had not rush out and transform to help her. Truly he could stop any human cold, even this strangely armed one, but he did not need the armor on to tell him Satsuki was closely watching all the grounds today.

Sighing at the absurdity of hiding from students, no matter how powerful, Sho kept taking notes for the exams this school still had coming up.

* * *

Needles seemed to stick everywhere on her as Ryuko again found more of the non-athletic club members strung up or defeated in the hallways. For whatever reason the pervert was keeping to the public areas and driving her at every turn.

 _Do not forget what the Guyver told you._ The commentary from Senketsu was annoying but it helped focus her thoughts. There had to be a way to turn this around. She noted his voice was fainter than before and it seemed harder to move sometimes too.

She got up and wheeled around the corner to find the head of the gardening club lined with those spindle grenades. She had no chance to dodge it all but ducked back down the stairs as the grenade launched even more needles.

 _Ryuko, above you!_ The timely warning was still not enough to dodge more shots from above. He must have crashed through one of the windows. Out of instinct she whirled the scissor blade to make a red fan out of it, but it still did not stop all the needles.

Ryuko did the unexpected then and leapt at her opponent, and the look of surprise was satisfying for all of 5 seconds as he also adjusted and clicked a remote in his hands.

Too late did she realize he had one more bomb somewhere and the needles pierce Senketsu. They collapsed into the bathroom exhausted.

 _I am out of power Ryuko, I am sorry._ Senketsu reverted to his sailor uniform mode on his own and looked in tatters.

"Finally, that is a kamui for you. It took far more tranquilizing rounds than I expected." The pervert was standing over her with his strange needle gun pointed at her. "Strip it off now or I will destroy it while you wear it."

* * *

Sho heard the ultimatum but was powerless to help as he could hear more people coming. He ducked into an empty classroom but noted the cameras even here. He felt foolish, there was no one to fear losing here. The Zoanoids already knew who he was and would come after him no matter where he was. It was a fear that the Sho of this world would find the monsters at his door, but thanks to the recent events he knew the entry point into this world was still near Honno Town.

 _Ryuko, make a run for it when I go at him._ It was very faint in the quiet classroom, but Sho heard that male voice again. It was just barely there, but this time he realized he was not hearing it with his ears, but his mind.

The next moment he heard multiple shots from the needle gun and slid the door open to look at the scene.

* * *

Ryuko felt shock at Senketsu's action, after she had been berating him and ignoring his opinions, he had just tried to save her. He knew she would not abandon him and he made the choice to sacrifice himself.

"You see! It just tried to save itself when you were no more use to it!" The pervert was screaming in victory, but he had not heard the plea in Senketsu's voice. If he could only hear him he would know he was so wrong.

"You are wrong…" the words came tumbling out anyway as he kept screaming something about Life Fibers. "He is my friend!" A mop suddenly hit the back of the pervert with the mohawk and Mako was there.

* * *

Sho had nearly transformed before Mako appeared. She was as full of energy as always but while not entirely sure how much she believed Senketsu was alive, he saw that Ryuko's feelings meant a lot to her. Mako freed a now tattered kamui and returned it to the shaking hands of Ryuko.

As she often did, she made a quick exit.

"Out of cold dead hands!" Whatever the attacker had said, Ryuko's response was blue steel resolve and Sho saw she would not let go. The stamp of many feet had Sho back into the classroom but he saw something flash for a moment red over the attackers face and shock came over it.

"Could these 2 care for each other?" Sho breathed easy that one fight was over. He saw Nonon leading her immediate band subordinates down the hall and made for the back of the classroom in case he needed to hide.

"Let me tell you 2 important pieces of information: 1 I go where I want, and 2, you people will never catch me!" The attacker's words were followed by the hiss of a likely smoke bomb and then the door bulged as another explosion went off. Sho had to wait for only a few minutes before the Elite and her followers left.

The fact he saw neither Ryuko nor Senketsu may be good or bad, but he hoped for good. He raced to the only nearby safe haven Ryuko might use and hoped she would be there.

* * *

"Senketsu!" Ryuko sat bolt upright in a sweat before pain made her immediately lie back down.

 _I am here and you need to relax Ryuko. We are both in tatters._ Truer words were never spoken by her friend, and he was her friend. Mako was her friend, and Sho was her friend. It was not a large group by any measure, but it was becoming clear she had to treat them better.

"Thank God! Ryuko, Senketsu, are you both ok?" Sho came huffing in to what she now realized was the storage room Mikisugi used for his perverted conversations. She noted it for later.

 _We are both fine, tell him so._ Ryuko went to open her mouth when she saw Sho relax on his own. He smiled in reassurance and she realized he had heard Senketsu!

"You can hear him?!" Again she tried to sit up but her body was not having it.

"Stay down and yes I have been able to faintly hear him for a few days now I think. At first it was only as the Guyver, then today as just me, but it is in my head not my ears." Senketsu's eye was looking at the boy in earnest.

 _Can you truly hear me as well as Ryuko?_ The uniform looked on and Ryuko remained silent.

"Yea I can Senketsu, but all I can think is that my Guyver is something similar or that it is picking up however you talk to Ryuko. I honestly do not know how much the Guyver changes me, I mean it has rebuilt me a few times—" Sho trailed off at the clearly curious looks she must be giving him and held his hands up.

"Tch, we both have a long way to go. Will you both help me to get stronger?" Sho nodded easily but Senketsu paused.

 _I will, I am your Sunday best after all._ He did not seem to mind the title but Ryuko was having none of it.

"No, you are my friend Senketsu." She felt him jolt and the sensation of warmth flooded her. "Just cut me some slack okay?"

 _You need to lose 2 cm on your BMI and then things will be better._ The arrogant piece of cloth had the audacity to insult her?!

"2 CM! Come on!" Sho's laughter did not help the situation at all, but after the bitter day of defeat if felt wonderful to hear.

* * *

 **Student Council Room**

"I was able to analyze the guerrilla tactics and form an attack pattern." Inumuta reported from his terminal as he analyzed data from the rest of the day. Sighing in resignation he almost reported failure when he noticed an oddity.

The final battle between the transfer student and the guerrilla had an odd witness, and he was acting strangely. It was not proof and his identity was an associate of Matoi, but it was odd. He noted Sho Fukamachi in the system and waited.

The result was impossible! Clearly there was an error in the computer. He put his not inconsiderable talents to analyzing the problem, but the system was stubborn. Each student was registered, and in the case of Honnouji Academy genetically compared to files on hand. It was necessary for Goku compatibility.

"What is it Inumuta?" Satsuki was behind him, having noted his concentration. She was sipping her normal tea and looking at the data on the screen he had compiled for the fourth time.

"It seems we have a student in 2 places at once, confirmed by both genetics and appearance. The identity is confirmed but I do not know how this is possible." The sentence bloomed in his head as terms he had never heard came back to him. The new file titled 'Guyver' scrolled on his screen until he found the key words.

"….this Earth…" He said them as he read them. It was the words the Zoanoid creature had yelled at the Guyver. Further, the Guyver had accused the monster's organization of forcing him to fight his own father, but if it is Fukamachi, his father was alive and well.

The records did not match and the Guyver was a power unlike anything Life Fibers could produce. Even the kamui, for all the power they gave their wearers, did not project energy weapons or control gravity.

"It is highly illogical but not impossible my President. We may have a visitor unlike any other and that oddity in Honno Town is not just a spatial rip, but dimensional." The confused looks on Gammagorri and Sanganyama were expected but Satsuki seemed to think on it.

"Confirm it." Her order was easy, he knew what to look for now and found it in a heart beat. The records burned on the screen. A second Sho Fukamachi suddenly showed up at Honnouji Academy with transfer papers at the exact time the Guyver was first encountered.

So long as a student passed the scan for compatibility on the way in, the papers needed only text confirmation. The school system was rather lax about that on purpose, to allow students like Matoi and such to make their way here and allow powerful students to rise.

Sho Fukamachi was the Guyver. He was also not of this Earth.

"Watch him, but do not detain him. The threat of those monsters remains so long as that distortion does. When the time is right, we will bring him to heel." Satsuki gave her orders and then slammed her heel down for emphasis. The thorn in their sides could hide no longer, soon all would fall to their knees.


	10. Chapter 10 - Hyper-Zoanoid vs Elite

_The battles have heated up but Ryuko and Senketsu have become closer and Ryuko herself has come to value her friends more. The fear of Sho being found out has come to pass, but Satsuki has restrained any action for now. Now both sides wait for further monsters or the next step in the battle over Life Fibers._

* * *

Sanageyama felt the itch. He had 2 worthy opponents and both were finally within his grasp, but even he knew the order concerning the Guyver was common sense. He had gone over the results of the 2 attacks in Honno Town and the analysis of the strength they were dealing with. Still, he felt the itch and he could no longer withhold himself as he felt the smile stretch over his face as he went to see Satsuki in her rooms.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Dr. Balcus knelt before his master, Arcenfel. The feeling of overwhelming power was not just genetically built into him, all knew his power was absolute. Only Balcus knew the result of the battle between Guyot and Arcenfel, and at the latter's order it stayed that way. The most powerful Zoalord looked over the limited data and as the most experienced in the technology had come to give an opinion on the upcoming operation.

"Hammelcar, you have stumbled on something I don't think the Creators truly played with. It may even be that the Guyver I unintentionally made this possible. Regardless," the blonde youth with his unassuming form seemed to glow with energy as he turned to the ancient right hand man of his, "This mission hinges on a lot of assumptions. You confirmed not only the Guyver but an unknown and unmeasured power in this girl. We need a more subtle mission for information. Send a Hyper-Zoanoid that can handle itself but will not create the waves the first 2 missions did. The Guyver is not a priority, the girl is."

With that, the closest thing to a God Earth had seemed to vanish into streams of energy. Dr. Balcus knew the frightening truth of that power as he had seen it do terrible things over the centuries, but it had limits, the moon's creation made that reality clear. Even so, the Zoalord had regained much of his powers as optimization technology began to come along to the modern era.

He could never be truly restored, but that was due to the lack of the Creators and their original Zoalord technology. The pale imitations Balcus had created were powerful, but they were children compared to Arcenfel.

He sighed as he stroked his beard and pulled up the list of choices for this mission. Hyper-Zoanoids were far more common, but subtle did not usually go with that level of Zoanoid. He kept scrolling through the list and was about to go create what he needed when an old one showed up. He was one of the original prototypes and was still around unlike many of the others. It was a risk to fiddle with a prototype, but in this case he was on certain ground. It was the prototype for the Elite 5.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

The 2 Star Guard detail was distracted. Sanageyama had challenged the transfer student t combat today and many wanted to go. The battles until now had been one sided in her favor or she was overpowered by outside forces. Also, anytime Sanageyama battled it was a fight not to miss. They were animated discussing this topic when an unassuming man appeared in the target zone.

He was dressed in a dark suit with blonde close cropped hair and sunglasses. Because no one was paying attention as they should and it was not a monster, the man simply turned down an alley and leisurely began walking up to the Academy at the top of the hill.

It would only be much later that someone would see the footprints and begin to search for a man no one had seen arrive.

* * *

Sho watched from the crowd as Sanageyama and Ryuko fought fiercely. The transformation into the massive green armor was unexpected on the Elite, but having seen the Scourge Regalia, Sho was not totally surprised.

At first he was worried but the newly strengthened bond, and clearly being fast on her feet, Ryuko worked with Senketsu to blind and then soundly destroy a 3 Star Goku uniform. He was impressed. She could do something he could not accomplish as the Guyver, disarm her opponents without killing them.

At full force he could easily destroy anyone in a Goku uniform, but they would be killed, a normal human, and Sho just could not contemplate that.

He was about to file out with the rest of the students when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It was something he had picked up after many battles when the Guyver was no longer on him. The feeling of something being wrong.

He scanned the crowed but it was just students and a beaten Sanageyama in the middle of the gym floor. Everything was fine. The feeling did not stop.

Sho looked at Senketsu's eye and noticed it was looking up and he did the same. The blood drained from his face. He saw the dark shadow just barely visible near the top windows. It was looking right at Ryuko and he knew that kind of shadow. Every instinct he had screamed of Chronos.

Just as he was about to catch Ryuko's attention, it vanished. Sho saw Mako and Ryuko heading home, but Sho would not be going just yet.

* * *

Inumuta did not like it. His surveillance was perfect but something had been at the Academy that was not supposed to be. The problem was it never held still long enough to be sure what it was and then it destroyed several cameras in sequence before disappearing.

The fight between the Transfer Student and Sanageyama had added to the problems as bodies were everywhere and trying to pick apart one shape from a wild crowd had proved fruitless. He had the sneaking suspicion that someone with claws was here but the team in charge of watching assured him nothing was wrong.

That of course was now changed as foot prints not belonging to a student were at the rift. Gammagorri was currently disciplining the guard assigned and a full search was in effect. Unfortunately these things could look like ordinary people according to the Guyver.

 _I will not be thwarted a second time._ He was typing lightning fast and data was streaming through the whole network of Honno Town. If this blur showed up again, it would not find escape so easy.

* * *

"Something was on the ceiling watching us?" Ryuko was talking to Senketsu when Sho finally had given up. Whatever type of Zoanoid this was, it was not attacking or waiting for him anywhere. Frustration at his lack of success was at least eased by the fact the kamui had noticed.

 _His eyes never left us the whole battle or as we came back._ Senketsu's words made his blood run cold. The Zoanoid was not coming for him, but for Ryuko. If the last battle had been relayed to Balcus, he may be trying to gauge the strength of Ryuko as a potential ally of the Guyver.

"Did you get a good look at him Senketsu?" Sho's question confused the Mankanshoku table. He had forgotten in his worry that they did not believe the outfit was alive, but right now that was not worth explaining.

 _No. He always stayed out of sight but I felt the look always until a few moments ago._ Sho bolted up and out the door.

"GUYVER!" As soon as the armor was on he was scanning the area. At the very edge of his senses he felt it. A single being moving too fast and away from the school. He took to the roofs of Honno Town slums and moved as fast as he had ever moved.

The night blurred and nothing mattered but reaching this target. The horror of what Chronos could do with Life Fibers terrified him. On top of their own abilities, the clothing could make their human forms equally unstoppable. It was not a thought he wanted to complete.

It was only as he finally closed in on the target that had stopped running that he noticed Ryuko was right with him in Synchronization Mode. He was used to the stripped down look, but in the fight to come the exposed flesh terrified him.

 _It is too late to stop us Guyver, we must find this foe before more innocents are killed._ The kamui's words were truer than any concern. The Guyver told him they were on top of it and he rounded the corner only to get a tentacle wrapped around his neck.

* * *

Ryuko saw the Guyver light up in electrical shock and then a red light beam flared out to knock Sho out of the sky. She did not pause and changed direction to catch him, but when she looked down the alley, it was empty.

"Where did he go?" Ryuko felt Senketsu looking hard, but neither the attacker, nor the Guyver appeared.

Not one to be overly patient, Ryuko let the silence of the night come over her and waited to hear what she needed.

The sound of a step behind her was damned surprising but her scissor blade flew quickly and encountered something hard. She leapt forward to the next roof, only to push back immediately back at her target. The shadow moved swiftly by a tentacle pulling him out of the way. In any other opponent this might have worked.

"Decapitation mode!" The scissor extended immediately and the attacker was in mid air when it struck. Once again, it hit but just glanced off of something. "Some kind of armor?"

The moon finally graced the evening and revealed a very nondescript man in a suit that had been slashed in the left rib and arm areas where the scissor had struck. Not a drop of blood was evident in either tear.

"Your strength is surprising as is your speed. It was difficult to evaluate you today and I am interested in what you did to your opponent as well. His clothes gave him that power yes?" Ryuko did not bother answering. Any information this scumbag could get on his own, her concern was Sho.

Her opponent seemed to pick up on her distraction.

"The Guyver is alive, just incapacitated. I analyzed a previous battle that one of my skill sets worked on him. He will recover but not anytime soon." The man was not smiling or bragging, just stating facts and it made her blood run cold.

Rain began to fall from the sky as lightning crashed above them. A frown appeared on his pale face but as he glanced up a glowing blade slashed out of the night.

"I would not be too sure about that!" The Guyver was moving around the roof and not holding still, but his moves seemed slow compared to what she knew he could do.

"I see. I am not able to produce the same power as Elegen. I will remember that in the future. My bio-laser is on par with ZX-Tole's but clearly I need a better blast." The names meant nothing to her, but the Guyver seemed to react in shock.

Before either could re-engage him, the man seemed to melt into the night and the sky let out a downpour. The Guyver stayed upright as its orbs moved but then a sigh escaped and Ryuko had to rush to catch him as the armor disengaged.

Ryuko needed no prompting to get them in out of the storm and get Sho some rest.

Ryuko was brushing her teeth the next morning when the challenge was noticed. What was surprising was it was again Sanageyama. Sighing that the troubles never ended, she went about getting ready, but wondered if her new shadow was watching her again already.

* * *

The Zoanoid only had a designation. Prototypes, if they survived, often only had designations. He may have had a name once, but now he was simply Test Type Mark 3. His attempt at information gathering had had mixed results.

Clearly the target was powerful, her swings had penetrated his armored body severely, and she had speed he could barely keep up with as well. The Guyver had similar capabilities but the inexperience of the human inside made prediction of his actions possible, that and his fights with Zoanoids were desperate moments of near death usually as well.

He had been correct that the Guyver would follow him last night, but he had underestimated its ability to recover from his attacks. The Guyver would be invincible in the Gigantic against him, but even the megasmasher would destroy him as well.

His target was going to another battle and his information was lacking on the capabilities of these beings. They clearly had different power levels with this 'kamui' being the most powerful. He followed her to the Academy once again.

* * *

Sanageyama was a different man now. His eyes were sown shut and his Goku uniform was far more powerful. Ryuko could barely dodge him and his hits were brutal. This was not the same fight happy maniac from yesterday, but a serious warrior.

Fear filled her body as the man overpowered her with one blow after another. No trick or skill she had worked against him and she could not track his movements at all.

"What is wrong Matoi?" He was calm, centered, and scared the hell out of her.

* * *

His target was now being beaten. It could be like the Guyver and his inexperience but Balcus needed data. He had relayed all he had learned and gotten authorization for direct battle data. He informed the Zoalord he may be defeated, but that was fine.

* * *

Ryuko was slammed into the ground and the scissor sent flying. She had a string of Senketsu tied to it, but when the blade flashed into his back, Sanageyama left an afterimage as he appeared behind her.

"That won't work—" He stopped talking as a shadow fell from the sky. It was not the Guyver but the man from last night!

"Zoanoid…" The word left her and she heard the sharp heel of Satsuki from on high watching them.

"You will surrender immediately or be destroyed." The man did not even look behind him, he had eyes only for Sanageyama. He began to bulge and his human flesh shredded as blue-grey armor appeared and his head distorted until it grew 2 horns. His arms became tentacles wrapped around clawed flesh.

She noted there was a cut in the left side and left arm and smirked she had made in impact but she was in no shape to fight this man.

"I am curious how you are over-powering my target. Please indulge my curiosity." The man blurred and Sanageyama also vanished. Ryuko realized Sho was not here and even the Elite did not know the powers of this creature.

"Stop! He can electrocute—" She never got the chance to finish her sentence as the very tentacle attack wrapped her arm and sent electricity in her and Senketsu. Both screamed in agony but it stopped quickly as blackness closed in.

* * *

Satsuki felt rage boil. The monster that had breached their defenses had just assaulted a clearly defenseless Matoi. Sanageyama's fight was worth more than this and the honor of the Academy was at stake. She noted the Guyver was nowhere to be found and wondered if he was still alive.

"Inumuta, where is Fukamachi?" She heard a pause then furious clicking.

"He is currently not on my screens, so he is at home or injured from possibly fighting this creature." She accepted that possibility but would not surrender easily. She noted that Sanageyama was not fighting head on as he had with Matoi. He must sense something dangerous enough to keep his distance beyond the tentacles.

"Do as I instructed, broadcast this now!" She only heard one click and smiled at the efficiency of her subordinates.

* * *

Sho was barely awake but feeling better when all the monitors began showing an image. He saw Sanageyama engaged with what looked like a mix of the old Elite 5 Hyper-Zoanoids Elegen and ZX-Tole. It had the tentacles and bio-laser from them, the body might be a part of Derzerb as well.

"A prototype like Murakami?" Sho then saw Ryuko knocked out on the battlefield and realized he was seeing a live image!

"Guyver!" The armor was around him as he ran to try and save his friends.

* * *

The human was proving tactically brilliant. He had avoided the danger of the tentacles and was not staying still long enough for the bio-laser to fire. Equally, he was staying in sight long enough to draw him in. He claimed to be blind but the uniform may be compensating in some way for that.

The how of these outfits was a high priority but information was lacking. The best he could tell is they were normal cloth. They must possess a catalyst but he could not determine it. Even so, he now had his answer. The kamui gave the girl power, but like the Guyver, her knowledge and experience limited her.

All that remained was to end the fight and get a sample. He made a beeline for the unconscious girl and was not surprised when green appeared in front of him.

"Matoi is my opponent, not yours." Foolish time to speak human. The man almost evaded again but as his target was the girl he did what most humans did and became a shield. That was all he needed.

The blade extended from his damaged rib area and pierced the outfit easily. Blood spurted from his mouth, but he had avoided a lethal strike.

"If you desire to win, win." The barb for the human got through but then the world changed.

* * *

Energy slammed from the top of the wall as a single beam of the megasmasher slammed into the Zoanoid while missing the Elite. Sho noted that the monster was still ticking by sacrificing its arm and a leg to avoid death, but he was not done.

Blades extended as he approached the creature and saw it was not deterred.

"Well done Guyver I. You nearly had me, but I will not let you get that lucky again." In horror the limbs began to regenerate but Sho had expected this. His gravity cannon smashed into the damaged limbs and the bio-Laser. The fact he lived spoke of optimizations to fight him on even footing.

"I cannot afford to lose. My fight, I must win." The other plate opened on a fully charged smasher and the monster smiled at its death.

Energy smashed into it as it was erased from existence and burnt the ground. The chest plate closed once the beam was done and the outline remained.

Sho quickly ran over to Ryuko and Sanageyama who was kneeling. He ran a scan over him and yelled at the person watching it all.

"He needs medical help now Satsuki! I am taking Matoi." He gently picked her up and was disturbed neither of them were conscious.

He heard the sound of her heel and was about to leave when her words stopped him cold.

"Very well Fukamachi, for saving my subordinate you may take Matoi, but you can hide no longer and you WILL submit to me." She blazed like a sun as a medical team came to the now deactivated form of Sanageyama.

Sho felt rage and fear war within him, but Ryuko's condition was a first priority. Even so, he looked up at the ruler of this world and felt no fear.

"If Chronos can destroy my family in front of me and not stop me, what makes you think you can?" He saw he had struck an unexpected nerve in this cold woman. Something he had said had made her pause, but only for a moment.

"We will discuss this another time, treat Matoi and we will be coming for you." She whirled around and marched off her perch.

Sho floated up and took Ryuko back to the Mankanshoku's for help. He realized that today was his last day of freedom. Barring another attack by Chronos, Satsuki had run out of patience with him.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

The final data had made it but was not as helpful as Balcus wanted. It gave him battle date, but not the source of power for these outfits. That lack, however, was made up for the fact that they tore like other cloth with that scissor blade. The damage it had inflicted on the Hyper-Zoanoid gave him the data he needed to replicate the effect.

The next time these "Goku" uniforms confront a Zoanoid, they would learn the true power of Chronos and leave the Guyver alone against an army of Zoanoids. The only problem was no confirmation of the Gigantic, because even an army would not be enough then. Still, it seemed many of these beings were against the Guyver. Only the girl stood with him and if she died, he would be alone.

Even a Guyver cannot fight 2 armies at once, Gigantic or no.


	11. Chapter 11 - Battle of Friends

_The Elite Sanageyama proved his status by taking defeat and becoming fearsome against Ryuko. He also engaged a Hyper-Zoanoid in even terms, but revealed the terrifying power of the creatures if they can get at their targets. Satsuki revealed she knows who the Guyver is and all are left licking wounds from another Zoanoid attack._

* * *

Sho watched in chagrin as Ryuko bounced back from her wounds with energy and vigor. She had lamented how she had not taken her foes more seriously, but she vowed to get stronger and face Satsuki and Junketsu once more.

He had withheld the revelation Satsuki told him as he left with her a few days gone, but now he felt the eyes of Inumuta on him anytime he was at the Academy. Ryuko had lost her patience at the insanity of some of the 2 Star Club names during the most recent lunch.

* * *

"I mean who has a Tightrope Walking Club, wouldn't they be in Gymnastics or something?" Ryuko relished the croquettes she and Mako shared. She had noticed Sho fall into some kind of shell after the battle with the Hyper-Zoanoid, one that apparently had abilities similar to ones he faced before.

She had her own battle, but these monsters were adding a deadly edge neither Satsuki or she wanted. Discipline was strict here and death possible, but the almost crazy ease the Zoanoids went to brutal murder was disturbing.

"It is because anyone who beats you gets an automatic 3 Star Goku uniform and thus a better lifestyle," Mako spoke while eating, her friend would never not eat her mother's croquettes. Ryuko listened as she realized that she could repay the Mankanshokus for all their kindness and all she had to do was make a club for what she did best, cause a ruckus.

* * *

Sho watched in a bit of laughter as Ryuko mounted her new plan of attack. It made a lot of sense, but he was as shocked as anyone when Satsuki allowed it. The small mountain of paperwork made Ryuko's eyes bug out even from his vantage of the classroom, but then Mako looked like she got stuck with it. The smile widened at the antics of his friend as it lessened the horror of only a few weeks gone.

The Fight Club made him lose a smile a bit barely a month later. It became lonely in the Honno Slums without Ryuko and Mako anymore, and worse was he could see the better lifestyle doing something to the Mankanshokus. Ryuko seemed the same, but not as happy as she had been up to now.

They still waved at him, but the schedule of the club and the constant attacks otherwise meant he was left behind. Honestly it worked out in favor of his plans as he kept waiting for the other shoe from Satsuki to drop.

Oddly, she did not follow through, or perhaps Ryuko's recent tack was distracting them as the Fight Club was closing in on the status of 3 Star. He wondered what would happen if Ryuko and Mako got onto the Student Council? Would the be asked to turn on him? He shook the dark thoughts from his head as he crossed the grounds to the exit.

* * *

Ryuko saw Sho walking alone again. She missed him, but the monster of a club she had created was consuming everything, and she worried what it was doing to Mako and her family. They were distant, entitled, and honestly not much like a family at all anymore.

 _You should talk with Sho about what to do Ryuko. He is still a friend and you miss him._ Senketsu had been advising talking to Sho for awhile but Mako and Fight Club left her wiped out. Now she had to make a choice, and she knew where she stood in this Academy.

* * *

Sho felt it as he awoke in the middle of the night. Someone was near. He barely resisted summoning the Guyver as many wandered the night but his instinct would not wake him for someone innocent.

A shadow moved and revealed Ryuko outside his shack. Sighing at her foolishness, he opened the door. He saw her blue eyes widen in surprise but he just grinned and offered a wave into the single room he called home.

"It is not a grand place but it does what I need it to." Sho sat back down on his mat and let the her take his chair. The small table and a few supplies stored around the shelves with his homework was all that made this room.

He saw the thoughts going through her head but waited for her to speak. He had seen the changes come over the Mankanshokus but with the kind of luxury they now enjoyed it was not too surprising to him.

"I am quitting Fight Club tomorrow morning. Whatever happens, aside from your specialty, stay out of it please." Though it was a plea she had her steel gaze on him in the moon lit windows. In that moment she was as fearsome as Satsuki but for different reasons. She knew he would help if asked but he sighed at his own revelation to share.

"I did not have much chance to tell you, but the Student Council knows how I am." He saw the shock pass over her face and then frustration, at him no doubt, not getting it. "I will however stay out of whatever comes so far as the Academy is concerned. I am probably under watch at all times anyway now."

She nodded and he felt she had said what she wanted but she stayed still. Sho was still feeling tired but he could understand that a dangerous rift was opening in her. Mako may not take too kindly to coming back to the Slums and Ryuko clearly had issues with hurting a friend. Sho remembered feeling similar when he tried to drive Tetsuo away before he went to face Chronos.

"She might surprise you, but you have to remember you are friends Ryuko. It is not all smooth sailing as you well know." He saw her surprise as if he had read her thoughts but then smirked a bit at his words. Still she sat in his chair.

"Sho…what happened to your father?" Shock passed through his body at the sudden turn in the questions, but he felt she deserved an answer. Still, this was not the time.

"Get through tomorrow and when things settle we can discuss that, but I promise I will, OK?" Sho saw her quick nod and then she went to leave but paused at the door.

 _Ryuko._ Just her name from Senketsu but he saw her sigh.

"Thanks for understanding Sho, and see you tomorrow." She closed the shack door behind her, but for a moment he thought he had heard tears in her voice. She was headstrong, stubborn and by far the most resilient woman he had met, but tomorrow was a true test of her strength.

* * *

Sho just stared at what happened on the grounds. The fight between the two friends was escalated as the now empowered Mako donned her 2 Star Goku uniform. Even from the classroom, Mikisugi and he both, felt the power in Mako. The teacher had been watching him more lately, but no longer trying to approach him for his 'Nudist Beach' as he had heard Ryuko say his organization was. The name alone made him cringe.

Now both men watched as the 2 women fought with fearsome power. Sho felt his hands ache as he gripped the windowsill tightly, but then he thought he heard his hand break when Ryuko transformed to her Sailor uniform mode.

She had been pummeled, barely struck back, and now as the sun set, with the Mankanshokus cheering for Ryuko's defeat, Mako charged at full speed. His breath froze as the fist barely stopped.

* * *

"Why aren't you stopping me?! What kind of parents are you?!" Mako was yelling now as tears streamed down her face. Ryuko thought a few of her teeth were loose but as Mako reached the pinnacle of her tirade at the absurdity of attacking her best friend, the power unleashed made a massive crater around them.

"So that is your real power, you never used it against me at all?" Ryuko smiled wider as Sho had said, it was not easy, but she was definitely surprised.

 _You knew all along and that is why you changed to normal?_ Senketsu accused her of holding back but she smiled wider still.

"Of course, she was fighting herself as she was fighting me. Now let's take care of that uniform!" Mako nodded once hard and chucked the uniform high up after declaring the Fight Club disbanded.

* * *

Sho breathed easy as the almost comical way the whole Mankanshoku family, now stripped to the bare minimum clothing, begged for Ryuko's forgiveness. He heard the counter to Satsuki's claim the humans were pigs in clothing and that they can make their own choices.

It all seemed resolved when Sho felt pain wrack his body.

 _FUKAMACHI! FUKAMACHI! If you can hear me then know Chronos is coming in force soon. They are gathering Hyper-Zoanoids where you vanished. I can't take much more of this but Segawa says Balcus is at the site. Be ready!_ A voice he had not heard for nearly six months had crashed through his mind and his back was killing him as he barely heard Mikisugi's voice.

Makishima remained very blunt but it was the most welcome part of the whole experience. Somehow, his friends had found a way to reach him, but as the darkness closed in, he wished they had found a bit more gentle way about it.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Agito collapsed as the machine continued to hum around him. His back was burning but the Guyver was healing him. Segawa was quickly shutting it down but for a moment he had felt Fukamachi as if he was right in front of him. The smile beneath his helmet was hard to hide from all.

Even in pain, he began to laugh.

"You did it Segawa, and we got through. I felt him—" Darkness was closing in but he had gotten the warning out. They did not know the why of the Zoanoid buildup without entering the rift, but Guyver I would know it is coming. The only frustration left is he would face it alone as the Guyver III could not take on that many Hyper-Zoanoids without the Gigantic backing it up.


	12. Chapter 12 - Elections and Chronos

_Things are spinning out of control on both sides of the Rift. Dr Balcus has begun assembly the Hyper-Zoanoid Task Force to destroy one of the hated Guyvers. Satsuki has declared Natural Election by battle between all the students for new Goku uniforms and standings._

 _Amidst this, Tetsuo had found a way to enhance the connection between the Guyvers and warn Sho, but the result has left both Guyvers unconscious. Agito was in Bioboost mode, thus has recovered, but Sho remains unaware of the wild battles raging around him for 6 days._

 _Left in the care of the Mankanshokus, Ryuko tried to seek answers about Senketsu and the power of Life Fibers. Instead she saw a taste of the Shackle Regalia held by Gammagorri._

 _The 7th day dawns since Sho collapsed the Elections began. Satsuki has not forgotten the dangers of the Zoanoids, but in the chaos of the battles, her forces were too distracted to see a change in the rift._

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Success! Dr. Balcus stroked his long beard as the crystalline humanoid hummed with power. The Rift was getting wider slowly, a matter of hours, and the assembled forces of Chronos could smash through and destroy Guyver I and his ally.

They were the priority targets, but anyone at this 'Academy' was also on the list for death. He took no more chances and once the Guyver was dead, the control metal would be frozen to return here. He theorized the cause of the Rift was the Gigantic leaving a way open to return, and thus it would follow the Guyver control metal back through.

With the threat of another Earth gone, they could focus on the final thorn in their side, Guyver III. The considerable power of Chronos was bent at the current task, pushing Zoanoid production and science to the very edge and resulted in many failures.

The Optimization of the world had been put on hold by Arcenfel himself to resolve this new threat. The final report from the Prototype had been clear, the uniforms were a threat on par with the Guyvers themselves.

They were done indulging chances or possible gains with the edge of science in dimensions. They would rule through the Creator technology and if possible, a Guyver for themselves. Sho Fukamachi would die at long last.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

The fight had been insane, but Ryuko had never felt threatened by the 1 or 2 Stars that came after her. The terrifying car ride with Gammagorri aside, she had never felt even a trace of fear as the week wore on.

She only engaged the foolish ones that came after her, but now she stood on one of 5 towers facing the Elite 4. She knew it would come to this and now a central arena rose up as all the students filed into the stands.

The crowd roared, but she felt a nagging worry when a certain face was not near Mako's.

 _He will awaken on his own Ryuko. Focus on the enemies in front of us._ Senketsu may have been telling her that, but she felt his worry too. Mikisugi did not know what cause the collapse anymore than the school nurse or Mankanshokus either. As far as anyone could tell he was simply passed out and some strange growths on his upper back.

Shaking her head she heard the words of Gammagorri to Satsuki to allow 1v1 combat between her and the Elites. That was just fine with her!

* * *

The world was slow to return, in fact it felt very heavy, but Sho finally opened his eyes to the thatch roof of the Mankanshokus. They were gone, but he saw a bundle with his name on it. The smell was of croquettes or he would eat the patched blanket over him. A part of him was glad they had come back to themselves, but he could clearly see he had been out some time.

There were no signs of sudden moving in, but being settled in. A glance at the clock showed a week had gone by!

 _I wasn't out for that long when Elegen knocked me out!_ Makishima's voice came back to him with that thought and he wasted no more time eating and drinking. It could be too late already.

"Guyver!" The armor enveloped him and he immediately sought out Zoanoids. He breathed easily as no destruction came to him, until his sense reached the Academy. He saw Ryuko shred her way out of the Shackle Regalia and defeat Gammagorri.

He was shocked at Senketsu's change, but smiled at her success. His smiled died as a headache slammed into his senses. He felt it, the hole in the world at last. It was not like it had been, before he could not so much as sense it, but now it screamed at his enhanced senses.

Chronos was coming! If Agito was right, he needed help and he needed it now!

The Guyver exploded upward as he raced to the Academy. They were going to needed every able fighter and Goku uniform to stand a chance. Chronos could not gain a foothold in this world!

* * *

Ryuko was breathing heavily as Inumuta left the arena. He had pushed her harder than she thought with making her attack the whole arena at once with Senketsu's eye. She took a breather, but knew the crazy band Elite was coming. Hers was the only Goku uniform she had not seen thus far.

 _Ryuko, something is wrong._ Senketsu felt tired as well but even as she looked around, all she saw was Mako having a cheering fest that resulted in her cheering for herself. The sight calmed her immediately, but nothing else stood out.

"Eh, transfer student, do you surrender?!" The grating voice brought her back to her opponent, but as they entered the arena she felt something off. If was like a note not in the right place of a song, and she was not the only one. Satsuki was not calling the start of the fight but looking around.

She swished her back length mane of black hair and yelled the beginning. Ryuko had to focus on the fight.

* * *

Sho had never felt like he moved so slowly as when he closed in on the Academy from the Slums. He barely felt strong enough to fight, but the food was slowly reinvigorating him. He saw on monitors everywhere that Ryuko had defeated 2 Elites and was now flying herself!

He had to move faster, the feeling of the Rift was getting stronger and he knew why. Dr. Balcus was going to come through in force, not one at a time as he had been. He had something to widen the Rift and was using it while preparing a force to come for him and now Ryuko.

 _Faster, Faster damn it!_ He urged the Guyver to greater speeds but could see the 3rd Elite fall to Ryuko's scissor blade. Only one remained, but he also had the combat experience needed. They might have a chance yet.

He watched in shock as the walls came in sight as a blonde girl in a frilly dress and pink umbrella interrupted Sanageyama and Ryuko with ease. She soundly defeated and made nude the Elite with a fingertip!

Four Elites defeated in so short a time! Sho felt fear grip his heart and then dread as he finally crested the wall and saw another scissor blade emerge from the girls dress somehow. The compliment to Ryuko's, he knew what that meant.

Ryuko had found her father's killer.

* * *

The 2 Stars finally noticed the rippling of the air and they tried to contact the Academy, but something had disrupted all communication. Inumuta had not taken into account a need to reach him during the tournament if he lost.

The buildings suddenly flattened outward in a shockwave. No one at the Academy noticed because Ryuko exploded at the intruder and now known murderer, Harime Nui.

"Ah Guyver I, I have brought you such presents compared to last time. I never thought to fight you again but I am over joyed to give you these for now." The far too happy voice belonged to a purple and shining humanoid that was surrounded by giant shadows with 4 eyes each. They lumbered into the town and numbered 25 in all. "Kill them all and find the Guyver, return with the control metal and I will re-open the Rift."

The Rift closed, taking the strange being with it. The 2 Stars barely blinked before the 25 massive creatures blurred and they felt the wind in their faces. No less than 30 men and women from the Academy had been put on guard detail, all were killed in an instant. Their bodies burst into fountains of blood and gore as they had been shredded in an instant.

Sickening laughter echoed in the slums, but their targets were all farther up now. Anyone in the uniforms were to be killed on sight and the Guyver with the dark haired female in the sailor uniform were top priority.

Chronos had come from all of Honnouji Academy.


	13. Chapter 13 - Rampaging Battle

_Hyper-Zoanoids race across the rooftops, swiftly closing in on Honnouji Academy. Ryuko is out of control, seemingly Senketsu has consumed her will and now she is little better than a wild animal._

 _Sho's hopes are shattered as the Elite 4 are powerless humans without their uniforms and only Satsuki and himself stand between the many students the monsters closing in. The newest arrival, while the admitted murder of Isshin Matoi, she clearly had strength, but no morals._

* * *

The twisted form of Ryuko haunted Sho as she unleashed power beyond imagining in all directions. Satsuki was in Lifer Fiber Override Mode, but his senses screamed danger was coming. He had no time to waste.

"Satsuki, they are coming!" He saw her head whip around and the widening of her eyes. The girl dressed in pink, and seeming to only have one eye, looked at him in boredom.

"Ehhh? What is this now?" The blonde head tilted at him, but Sho knew he had little time for niceties.

"GIGANTIC!" The air distorted around him as the enhancement appeared. Even Ryuko paused in the midst of her rampage, and in that moment as the Gigantic enclosed him, the 25 shadows appeared on the battlefield.

To Sho, they seemed a mix of heavy muscles and armored plating, the heads clearly had bio-laser slots and the hands were claws. His fear of Enzyme abilities seemed minor as there were far too many to handle and keep people alive.

"Do they have a weakness?" Satsuki's voice was steel, but he knew her pride did not blind her to his expertise.

"The same as anything alive, get through their defenses and hit the heart, head, or shred them. Too much damage and they dissolve. I can protect, but with Ryuko like that—" Sho glanced with a side orb and saw in horror she had already moved!

Mako was trailing after her with her family and he felt fear grip his heart. The laughter of the monsters closest to them was cut short as all watched in awe.

* * *

Mikisugi had only heard reports and what Fukamachi had passed along, but seeing these Zoanoids up close were frightening. He watched in awe as Ryuko unleashed a barrage of attacks that wiped out five of the creatures in one swing!

Blood flew from her body, but not from anything the creatures had done.

"Ryuko, you are going to die at this rate!" The words were pointless, as was the bullet he had gotten from HQ. This chaos was beyond measure. He saw Satsuki unleash her own attacks as the Elite 4 evacuated the civilians. The monsters seemed caught off guard by the ferocity of the attacks.

The truly frightening thing was the Guyver. Sho was powerful in his normal blue armor, but the Gigantic tan version of the armor was massive and hummed with power. It also was busy flitting across the battlefield and either defending groups of students or eviscerate a monster. In all of this, the bouncing and care free Harime Nui seemed to love the bloodshed.

Tsmugu was out there trying to pin down Ryuko, but now he was busy fighting the monsters as well, but his attacks seemed only to annoy them. Still, the battle trained Nudist was not caught by them either.

Explosions rolled across as the Guyver unleashed multiple beams that pierced the remaining Zoanoids, almost a dozen now. It had been moments, but eternity as well. Worse was he could see Ryuko was getting slower. The blood loss would kill her soon if not stopped.

God smiled at that moment and Mako made a surprise appearance. Whatever she did seemed to have finally stopped the rampage, no matter its usefulness. He paled suddenly as 3 of the hulking monsters smiled with razor teeth and closed in on them both.

* * *

Fukamachi was a God of Death on this battlefield to Satsuki. He chose who lived and died with an ease she had not expected from him, but he clearly worked to preserve life and entrust the Elite 4 to do what they do best for now.

She saw Matoi finally stop, but in this instance that was worse than blood loss. The fiends were ripping across the battle ground, but then the world went white. Blinded, she could only rely on her enhanced senses with Junketsu to warn her of attack.

The world slowly came back and she saw a bloody miracle. The Gigantic had used its megasmasher to obliterate most of the remaining Zoanoids as they had foolishly focused on a defenseless Matoi. A handful had remained near her, but in the instance of blindness he had moved and sliced them to ribbons.

He stood over Mankanshoku and Matoi like a dark God. She saw that the stadium was indeed empty, the Guyver had held back the whole time the ability to win to keep the students safe. His power was beyond anything a kamui could do on its own, save what she had seen Matoi unleash in her rampage.

"Very interesting." The smirk was short lived as Nui came into her vision.

"Awe! Why would they spoil my fun like that?" Before anyone else could move the Guyver had seemed to vanish and appear in front of her.

"Fun?! You call this fun?!" The boy sounded exhausted, but his rage had reignited his blood. Satsuki held her sword ready, but wanted to know how this confrontation would end.

"You are boring." The scissors blade flew but the sharp twang bounced off the armor of the Gigantic. Covered in blood and glowing with power, the Gigantic seemed to become more imposing without moving. The girl looked at her weapon and then smiled. "Maybe you are worth some fun after all."

"Oh I could not agree more little girl." A new voice echoed across the ruins of the battlefield. Satsuki turned and saw something that looked like another armored human, but she could see light reflect off of many facets of crystal.

"Void—" The voice from Fukamachi was drained of anger, instead it was disbelief.

"Oh you remember me Guyver I! I am so pleased to see you again. You broke all my toys from Balcus, but I think I will have more soon. He underestimated your allies again, but for the last time. I have all the data from their deaths and this time I am not nearly as fragile. Enjoy the reprieve—" He was interrupted by an irate Nui. She had not enjoyed being called a 'little girl,' but Satsuki felt shock as it easily stopped the attack and flung Nui into a wall.

With a comparative strength to a human in a kamui, that should not have been easy to do.

"Quite rude little girl. I was speaking. As I was saying Guyver I, I look forward to our final battle. I should tell you Guyver III and the Segawas are soon to be dead as well. You will be all alone—" This time it was the Gigantic that slammed into him, and this time the creature went flying.

It smashed into a cracked wall and it fell to pieces as desks and chairs fell out of the classroom it had supported.

Satsuki was stunned he had that much strength left, but then the rubble moved and it stood again, bleeding but alive.

"That was foolish of me, till we meet again Guyver I." A haze came over it and it seemed to twist then vanish. She saw Nui finally get up, also bloody but alive. It was too much to hope she had been killed.

"Interesting, very interesting." It seemed Nui was in the mood to continue. Satsuki had had enough.

"You are banished from these grounds Harime Nui, and if you return, I will end you myself." She felt the rage of Nui, but the Grand Courtier knew better than to cross her. She saw Matoi was barely standing in the corner of her eye as Nui left the ruins.

The Guyver stayed at the rim of the wall looking down. As soon as Nui was gone, he disengaged the Gigantic. The blue armor was pristine but she saw in shock that armor open part way down as the boy fell to the ground unconscious.

"Medical teams to the field, priority is Sho Fukamachi!" The day had been a disaster in more than one way, but 3 bright spots came out of it, 4 if you counted the gratifying defeat of Nui. The data to perfect the Goku uniforms had been obtained, Matoi had been taken out for some time, and now the Guyver was in her grasp.

The Tri-City Raid could now proceed to finalize their control of Japan.

The hiss of flesh drew her eye as the remains of the Zoanoids began to disintegrate. She watched the various chunks vanish and felt she was being too narrow. They were facing an unprecedented threat and it threatened all their plans, even Ragyo's.

Slamming Bakuzan in its sheathe and slamming her heel into the ground, she surveyed the damaged Academy, but saw the future, a future she would forge with the power of her kamui and the Guyver.


	14. Chapter 14 - Preparations and Return

_Ryuko is left shattered by her loss of control against Nui. Her rage overrode everything Senketsu tried to hold her back and the monster that rampaged was her unbridled fury. If not for Mako, she would have been killed._

 _Now the days pass as Satsuki reveals the Tournament was all about perfecting the Goku uniforms as they battled Ryuko and Senketsu, while the whereabouts of Sho are with held. The existence of Zoanoids has not spread beyond key figures in Revocs, but even Ragyo, CEO of the corporation bringing Life Fibers into the world, has ordered a full investigation._

 _Meanwhile, the Tri-School Raid commences to assembly its forces. In a mere 3 weeks, the Academy is rebuilt, the Raid Goku uniforms are nearing completion, and a stranger is pushing Ryuko to don Senketsu once again in battle against Satsuki and the Life Fibers._

* * *

Sho felt exhausted. It was often the case that the Gigantic would drain his stamina at terrifying rates, but never this bad. The fog on his mind just would not seem to clear and it was as if the world would not come into focus for any of his other senses.

The fits of color swirling around him before blackness came back were accompanied by sounds, words he once understood but now were just noise to him.

"..suspected this armor is not on him now, but summoned from another space. My analysis indicates it is similar to the Rift…" A male voice drifted by with what seemed important information but Sho could not be bothered. The blackness was closing in again as it had so many times before.

Just as blackness came a girl appeared in front of him. His heart rate tripled to see her again. Her school uniform was a blouse of white with blue highlights on the lapels and a red kerchief with a light blue skirt to the knees and her simple white tennis shoes. Her sandy hair wreathed her pale face as she smirked at him. She could scrunch her nose in the cutest way when up to something silly, but this time she was looking at him in earnest.

Her dark eyes were pleading with Sho. A sharp image of her in pain and shredded clothes shocked the darkness. He had been in such pain then, but a name was coming to him. It was the most important name to Sho Fukamachi. It was the reason he lived and the reason mankind had hope. She was the reason he could fly!

Mitzski Segawa smiled as the world became white with the only word Sho needed to reach her.

* * *

Klaxons sounded throughout the facility beneath Honnouji Academy, meant to research and create the Goku uniforms. Shiro quickly accessed the monitors for which lab had the emergency and had his jaw drop in shock. The Guyver was rising from shattered restraints and table in one of the assembly rooms.

Fukamachi had been drugged to keep him under until such time as the Lady Satsuki would call on him, but there he was rising up! It should be medically impossible even with Life Fibers to overcome that amount of drugs.

The room shook and debris fell from the ceiling as the monitor grayed out. He shook his blonde head and adjusted his goggles as he switched to the hallway, only to again feel his body shocked.

It was not just the door, the Guyver had blasted a whole to the outer wall! It was leaving the facility!

"Lady Satsuki, the Guyver is loose and is leaving the Academy!" Shiro slammed the intercom down, assured his Lady had heard the alarms and his message. He gathered the Sewing Club members to try and quickly get the lab under control and restored as fast as possible. They had to be ready for the Raid, let Gammagorri deal with the Guyver.

* * *

The Disciplinary Committee was useless against the Guyver. He was clearly holding back, but none of the 1 or 2 Star Goku uniforms could even slow him down. Then their leader's massive form took the field between the main exit and the blue figure of the Guyver.

The 2 were so dissimilar, but despite the clear power of Gammagorri, all had seen the true ability of the slim Guyver, the horn on its head no doubt as sharp as the blades on the elbows.

"You will no longer defy the will of Lady Satsuki, you will submit to the President and obey her commands!" The clear words of challenge made the dead silence afterward stark and ominous.

The Guyver tiled up its head and its belt orb glowed brightly.

All watched in awe as he simply took up and off over the wall! The ire on their leader's face told the committee to walk on eggshells for awhile, but none could deny the simplicity of the choice. The Guyver simply bypassed battle it did not want to fight.

* * *

Sho was still groggy but the Guyver was clearly getting some kind of drugs out of his system. How long had he been out? The Academy was mostly rebuilt but still some signs of the utter devastation of the out of control Ryuko and the Hyper-Zoanoids had wrought were there to see.

He was extremely glad he was conscious as the Guyver would have annihilated all the students to get out of the lab just now. It held no pity, no mercy, and no distinction.

His orbs finally zeroed in on Ryuko, but she was out in the open for some reason and on the ground.

* * *

Mikisugi had rushed as fast as he could once learning that Nui had tricked them all. She had been burning for the fight with Ryuko and Senketsu again, but apparently she had not liked the fight this time.

Ryuko was covered and only the kerchief from her kamui was in her hand. A humming drew his eyes up to see the Guyver at long last floating down out of the sky.

"Ryuko! Senketsu!" The Nudist looked around again but saw no sign of the kamui but that bit of kerchief. The armored youth seemed worried, but gently picked up the girl and looked at him, the man supposed to be teacher and guide to Ryuko at least if nothing else.

Slicking back his hair he huffed and badly wanted a smoke.

"Let's get to my safe room for now Fukamachi and I will bring you up to speed." The fragile recovery was overshadowed by the sounds of many trucks starting up as the Tri-School Raid set forth to finalize the domination of Honnouji Academy in Japan.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Void was still alive, barely. Arcenfel had been furious at the failure of the attack and the apparent ineffectiveness of hyper-Zoanoids against not only the Gigantic, but these pieces of cloth as well.

He only lived because he told the truth Balcus had not wanted to accept. The Guyver had found powerful allies and had just demonstrated how devastating they could be against the best optimized creatures that could be created and survive that journey.

Arcenfel was further infuriated as an attempt to seal the Rift had failed miserably. Void had understood. It was so simple that the great Balcus had made a terrible assumption and going from that assumption had made things worse.

The Gigantic had made a bridge to a safe haven to expel the energy his interference had created during that attack so long ago now. There were only 2 things left for it to use to make that bridge, Guyver I and Guyver III.

By trying to manipulate and close the Rift, they were feeding information to the Gigantic, the core of which had once been the heart of the living Relic. It was only a matter of time before the foolish actions gave the Gigantic core the information it needed to return on its own.

The Guyver had sensed them, where before Void had been able to sneak right up on him. They were left with no choice now. Void laughed and his violet crystal encrusted body refracted light gaily in his cell with it. They were going to have to commit to the 2 options left.

Find Guyver III and utterly destroy him to cut Guyver I off forever, a difficult and time consuming task as his location was unknown entirely, or send the most powerful weapon they had after Guyver I and drag him back through the Rift to seal this danger away also. They were going to have to send a Zoalord, the only Zoalord that could fight the Gigantic, Arcenfel himself.


	15. Chapter 15 - Reunion in battle

_The brutal final battle after the tournament has lead to the Tri-School Raid leaving Honnouji Academy with only the no Stars and the families of the students left behind. Sho and Mikisugi have come together in his office to go over their options as now Senketsu has been taken from Ryuko._

* * *

Sho knew this feeling all too well. He had been without his Guyver and now Ryuko, after becoming used to that power, would likely feel the same as he had. There was no time to wait to mull it over with the danger of Chronos suspiciously silent for the weeks Satsuki had kept him sedated.

Blessedly, Mikisugi kept his clothes on and was very serious. He held onto the kerchief that remained of Senketsu. The red cloth was the solitary eye of the kamui and it pained him to see the living uniform reduced to that.

 _I do not need your pity Fukamachi._ Sho's eyes widened at the voice in his head. It was Senketsu! The slight flicker of the cloth told him he was not imaging things. This dingy office had been weighing on him with its random piles of books and papers shoved into every corner and space between filing cabinets as Ryuko lay on the tan couch.

Now, it seemed to become hopeful again as he smiled to know the kamui was still with them.

"Tch, it seems Mankanshoku was rounded up on the raid." Mikisugi was reviewing video logs to try and determine who had come after Ryuko, but now Sho felt blood drain from his skull.

"She has no uniform, just ordinary cotton, not Life Fibers! Which one?!" Sho hopped behind the monitor and saw the display show Mako, much in her fashion, getting swept up in the lines headed by Sanageyama.

"I have the route, which seems to be Osaka, interesting…" Sho cared little for much that was interesting save getting to Mako. If Satsuki was sending 1-Stars up on a raiding trip, it was sure to be a battle field where ordinary people could suffer terrible fates.

"I am going to Osaka, keep an eye on Ryuko—" Sho stopped as he heard his friend moan in pain while asleep. Nightmare or memory would be hard to tell but he had no time to wait. "Let her know where I am!"

Sho leapt out of the window and the air rang with the word he always needed.

"GUYVER!"

* * *

 **Revocs Headquarters**

The towering building stood out from all for many reasons, but the most basic was the red interwoven design of what seemed like thread starting from a large round base and coming together in the center of a single, slim tower. Many wondered what contractor and architect had come up with the unique design, but few would imaging the building was made of clothing, Life Fibers were stronger than steel when used properly.

In the upper most floor, the CEO was reading a detailed report from her daughter that read more like science fiction than reality. A boy who seemed an exact replica, save a strange variance on his back, of an already existing boy had come to her daughter's school. He also had tantalizing power that rivaled Life Fibers, but was definitely not like it.

The frustrating things was, for every fact this report gave her, it left a thousand un-answered questions. The room flared with the light that always seemed to emanate from her, something that had become stronger as time passed.

She frowned more at the power it showed on par or beyond even a kamui as well with an enhancement to his armor. That is drained him was irrelevant, as all he needed was to slaughter his enemies and collapse afterward.

If it was just the boy, a random unknown, she might have been able to find a use for him, but it was the truth behind him that caused her frown to deepen. The "Zoanoids" that also seemed to have a varying level of power and a strength on par with a kamui as well, if less resistant to wounds.

"Nui, what were your impressions of these things?" The question was to the prone blonde girl twirling her pigtails on the windowsill. She had been humming incessantly, but quietly as Ragyo had gone over the report.

"They were super, super fun Lady Ragyo! That big meanie stopped it all, but he might be fun too next time I find him!" The fact that Nui gave any thought at all to Fukamachi spoke volumes of her brief contact with him. The rest of her words were as expected as well, she was a simple creature at times.

"When Satsuki is finished with her Tri-City Raid I want to see her, go now." She saw the blonde nearly sprint out the door. Ragyo smirked at her enthusiasm, knowing it was to see Junketsu in battle once more.

Ragyo glanced once more at the report and then stared at a photo from the first time the 2 kamui had met in battle. Between them was the Guyver in its base form and standing up to them both.

"You are out of control young boy, I will have to get rid of you." Ragyo said words that long ago had been said by the Creators of the test Guyver.

* * *

 **Honnouji Academy**

Ryuko was packing up the scissor blade in its tote as Mikisugi brought up the bike. She had awoken in a cold sweat and thought Senketsu was lost forever, only to have the kerchief be still him and now back on her.

She felt whole again after her melancholy of the last few weeks. Sho being alive and well was good news as well, if not his being held by Satsuki!

"You are sure about this Ryuko-kun?" The affectionate nickname was not exactly welcome from the freak teacher, but he had answers she needed and had watched over her too. She was willing to bend a bit.

"Absolutely, I will get Senketsu back completely and settle things with Satsuki and eventually Nui as well." Ryuko was determined to get her friend back whole and get Sho and Mako out of Osaka in one piece.

 _Well, Sho should be fine, but Mako is another matter._ Ryuko wondered if she should worry about Osaka getting attacked by Mako after she had gone on about it once, for four hours.

She revved the engine and took off in a puff of smoke, leaving her deceptively grungy homeroom teacher in the dust.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Arcenfel was tired. He hated that feeling more than anything but he had only recently been able to feel something close to his old power again. So much had changed in the thousands of years since he stopped the moon from crashing into Earth and so much had been lost.

Relic's Point had been a breath of fresh air in a way, but it was all gone and his work for the 12 had been all consuming.

Now, however, Guyver ! had revealed something unexpected. An entirely parallel Earth, no Creators from what they could gather, but something else was going on over there. Outfits that made humans incredibly powerful, no match for a Zoalord, but anything else seemed fair game.

The truly frightening thing was the sheer numbers that this could encompass was beyond anything they could cope with. Even a Zoalord runs out of energy if pushed hard enough, Guyot had pushed him hard enough.

If even 10 humans came back with Guyver I with that kind of power, Chronos would be easily defeated. This threat required a response since they could not seem to close the rift between them. The Creators might have known why that was, but without that knowledge, they were feeling their way.

Arcenfel knew what was needed but even with approval, it would take months to get everything ready. Time for the Guyver was a dangerous thing, but it also gave them time to find Guyver III. Even without a Remover, they could take out a serious threat to Chronos.

He would no longer underestimate these humans. They were worthy of his attention and they would feel every ounce of it!

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

The Guyver came upon a battlefield. Osaka was devastated but it made no sense. It was the entire city in flames, not just the school! Straining his senses, Sho saw that Satsuki had met true resistance here. There were battles everywhere and the chaos was further made worse by the city falling apart around them all!

He strained all his senses to try and find his friend but he kept seeing Satsuki with a red glove on her hand. He groaned inwardly as he recognized part of Senketsu. Ryuko would flip. Still he landed far from that fight and focused hard on Mako.

Everything he had and more was listening to the myriad battles and out of it something finally came through.

"Ooooh, this stall has my favorite treats, an Osaka specialty!" He smiled that she was talking about food and clearly all right. He focused on his orb and took off back into the chaos.

* * *

Ryuko had been through 2 battle fields, and while the schools had been wiped out, it was generally fairly contained to the 2 sides facing each other. Osaka was a true battlefield. She felt rage and horror at the same time as the bike sped through the smoke in the direction Senketsu told her more parts of him could be found.

She was stronger than before, even with just the kerchief on, but she wanted her friend back to stop this insanity.

She was so focused that she nearly lost control when Senketsu spoke.

 _I see Fukamachi up in the sky heading in the same direction as us!_ She glanced up, but could not make out much in the smoke. Trusting her friend was right, she smirked beneath her glasses as she gunned the bike to full throttle on the straight away.

She came through the smoke into a clearing to find Mako behind the Guyver as he tossed all comers to the walls. They were only knocked out she could see and all powered up to boot with parts of Senketsu.

She shook her head as she went to work.

* * *

Sho was glad to see Ryuko up and about but shocked at her attack speed as she removed the dark patches form the students around them. With shock, he realized they were parts of Senketsu!

 _Small wonder they were so much stronger._ Sho made sure Mako was ok, aside from being laden down with every treat known to man, she seemed fine. He breathed a sigh of relief as Ryuko drove up and launched herself at Mako, then him.

He was happy to see them both as well! His heart ached for Tetsuo and Mitsuki, but these were his friends as well.

"Sho! You went right back into danger I see!" Ryuko seemed rambunctious as usual and that was good to see. His concerns unfounded he saw the kerchief placed into the tote for the scissor blade as Mako and Ryuko caught up.

He heard that Mikisugi had updated on him as well. How long had he been out? What had Satsuki learned about the Guyver?

"Anyway, i have been feeling like my old self and now I just need to finish getting Senketsu back together!" The excited words made Sho cringe. He saw Ryuko retrieve the kerchief as the excess cloth seemed to become detached from the pieces of the kamui. He knew where one piece could be found.

 _There is only one left Ryuko, but it is going to be difficult._ Sho realized Senketsu could sense his pieces! He also felt tension rise.

"Really?! Where?" Ryuko perked up but then Senketsu told her and she looked at him with determination. Sho sighed that it was going to be a long day.

* * *

Satsuki looked with satisfaction at the fallen scion of Takarada lay on the ground in his destroyed mech. The man had not even been worth donning Junketsu, but she granted his ability to resist this much.

The majority of the battles and fires in Osaka could be laid at that resistance instigated by the pasty skinned coward sniveling with his glasses and braces on the ground. Sanageyama had put on a good showing with his new 3 Star Uniform.

"Satsuki!" She was surprised to hear the voice of Matoi behind her. She was not surprised at all to see the Guyver behind her. His escape was annoying to her for many reasons, but his being here was not surprising at all.

"So you have come to face me once again Matoi? Or will Fukamachi be facing me today?" Though she kept her calm on the surface, the thought of facing the Guyver was worrying. His power was absolute if he truly wanted to fight, but his weapons were lethal if not controlled precisely and she suspected Fukamachi was reluctant to kill a human.

That should give her an edge if he chose to fight, but she smirked as Matoi pulled out her scissor blade and came at her.

* * *

Sho watched the battle with frustration. He was only here to stop it from getting worse and keep Mako safe, currently well back with the rest of Senketsu. The Elite 4 watched him, but aside from Inumuta, they seemed more interested in the fight between Satsuki and Ryuko.

He was stunned at the power Ryuko was putting out without Senketsu fully restored. He strained his senses but could not tell why she was so much stronger. He felt it might be like the Guyver with the kamui.

He had been reconstructed several times, but while everything seemed the same, he knew that he was in probably the best shape he could ever be. He could run farther than ever before and endure as well. Agito had trained most of his life, but even he had mentioned that Sho seemed to have improved as the months progressed.

They had debated how old he was with the missing year, but it was pointless. The war with Chronos had consumed them all.

A blue flare brought him back as a fully activated Junketsu came at Ryuko and Sho had to resist running to her.

The world exploded suddenly in all directions as many men and women, hardly clothed, rushed onto the scene.

"Ryuko-kun!" Sho felt a sigh escape him as Mikisugi, with a bared ass hanging in the air, rushed over to Ryuko in some kind of strange mech. He was on robotic legs with weapons bristling, but left with the human legs and hind quarters exposed on the back as the head faced forward.

"Only he would think that is practical I just know it." Sho waded through the chaos as more battles broke out.

"What is wrong with you?" Ryuko was blushing in full as she had to look up at the Nudist teacher. Sho could only agree with that question as Mikisugi seemed to relish their reactions.

"We will take care of the Elites, you take care of Satsuki!" With that, the mad teacher rushed off to fight.

"I am fairly certain I will never get that image out of my head ever." Sho spoke the words aloud and saw Ryuko smile. Mako was coming up to them with the rest of Senketsu as Ryuko sparked an idea in her eyes.

* * *

Satsuki saw the naked monkeys were fighting fairly well but not truly winning. As she has suspected, the fool Mikisugi and his cohorts were not strong enough to truly be a threat.

Whereas the young man floating out of the sky was truly powerful. Fukamachi had come and she was feeling Junketsu quiver. It knew that it faced something dangerous.

"So it is your turn now?" She felt irritated as the Guyver crossed his arms and simply looked at her in silence. She arched her eyebrow and made ready to launch at him when suddenly a red glow happened behind her.

"Life Fiber Synchronization!" She barely had time to react before the scissor blade came at her and then some kind of light blinded her. The force of it pushed her back and she found the red glove of Senketsu was gone!

"I have him all back now, kamui Senketsu is back in action!" They had distracted her to get to the glove. She was both irked and appreciated the tactic. No matter the situation, the Guyver could not be ignored, thus she had focused on him as he was simple decoy.

She smiled as she lifted her sword at her rival. Matoi was truly worthy now!

* * *

Sho watched in awe as Ryuko seemed to toy with Satsuki and match her for the first time. She had reached the same level in so short a time.

Unfortunately, Satsuki had far more training in actual combat than the street fighting Ryuko excelled in. The scissor blade was sent flying into the chaos of the fight and Mako made a beeline for it.

He rushed to help, but Gammagorri in his new 3 Star, stood between them and the blade.

"I shall not let you pass this time, and you must fight me to get passed me!" Sho had had enough of the Elites and the way they treated no Stars.

"Fine, then face the power of the Guyver!" Sho put his full strength into his legs and felt the world fall away as he tried to get around the head of the Discipline Committee. He was surprised to see an arm reach out to snatch him as he reached the blade handle and send him flying.

As the world slammed to a halt, he saw the Elite standing tall and broad. He could almost feel the smile beneath his mask.

"You will not defy Honnouji Academy any longer!" Sho smiled at similar words said by so many Zoanoids in his life.

"Let's see how much you can handle." Sho concentrated and felt the confusion from Gammagorri. After all, they had not seen all his attacks.

Gravity blasts exploded and the head beam unleashed its fury at the same time. Sho was glad to see the ground crumble and the beam made the Elite dance backward off balance. It was all he needed to use his shout to blow the Elite onto his backside and slide across the landscape into the far wall.

"Get it now!" Mako appeared from behind him and made a beeline for the scissor blade. In the few moments they had fought, Ryuko and Satsuki had started battling in the air! He watched in horror as Ryuko was slammed into the tower and began to fall out of control.

He could not wait as the blade was stuck, but Gammagorri was getting up.

Sho flew to Ryuko as fast as he could go, compared to defying gravity, flying in a straight line was much faster. The world blurred as he pushed it faster than ever before and caught her just as she fell halfway down.

 _She is just out of breath Fukamachi, get us down!_ He saw Senketsu's words were true as Ryuko opened her steel blue eyes and glanced at Satsuki landing in the clearing below the falling tower.

"Let me go end this!" Sho felt he was reaching his limits with this fight but understood the need to see a fight through to the end.

"End it soon or I will stop it my way Ryuko." She nodded acceptance and leapt out of his arms. Normally they both would have been embarrassed by him holding her with so little on, but the battlefield and the strange allies, had changed a lot in mere hours.

Ryuko bet it all on Senketsu's idea and they were able to finally beat Satsuki by blinding her and getting her Bakuzan out of her hands. Always full of surprises, Junketsu was able to take one shoulder and threaten mutual destruction if the attack was pressed.

The battle finally ended in a draw as Ryuko and Satsuki called off all their allies. Sho felt it was a pyrrhic victory no matter who won here.

Satsuki and the Elites fell back as some final explosions rocked the area. Apparently the Nudist Beach was the organization that was based here and Mikisugi was part of it. This had been the goal of the raid, to find the secret base of the Nudists.

Sho looked at something he had very much wished never to see again, a city in flames and destruction everywhere. A shiver went down his spine as he knew without doubt that this was the beginning of something he was all too familiar with.

A world falling to pieces in secret and many lives lost before the world at large is taken away from humanity. He had missed X-Day during the year he lost, but he swore he would find a way to stop something like that happening here.

The Guyver turned to join Ryuko and the others at the edge of one of the canals in Osaka to learn the truths of this world. Life Fibers were more than just power ups if the changes in Ryuko were anything to go by and what was Senketsu? Mikisugi was smiling as the Guyver came to find those answers at long last.


	16. Chapter 16 - Parallel Revelations

_The frantic pace of their lives seems to have no end in site for Sho and Ryuko. Since learning the truth about each other, they have faced the Elite 4 and Zoanoids alike. Now, answers are finally forth coming about the Life Fibers and Honnouji Academy. Sho worries about another invasion but the few weeks since the crushing defeat of the Hyper-Zoanoids was not enough time for a new batch to come forth._

 _Despite the desperation to get back and examine the Rift, he stays with his friends for now to learn the truth himself._

 _Satsuki, having achieved all her goals with Nudist Beach and consolidating Japan, answers the summons of her mother. The toll of Junketsu is becoming apparent to her butler Soroi, but no one else knows of it._

* * *

 **Kiryuin Manor**

The prolonged battle against Takarada and Matoi had left her body ragged. Her sheer will had made her endure, and the anger Matoi could trigger dulled it for a time.

Now, Satsuki barely made it to the large bath in her home and even the water stung her. How Fukamachi and Matoi could wield their respective powers without this happening frustrated her, but she would persevere. She had her own goals and no one, not even Ragyo, would stop her.

Light began to emanate from the ornate fountain that fed the bath and the shining but scarred form of her mother emerged.

 _Unexpected._ She had assumed to meet later but the pain wracking her body was getting worse. Her mother said something about helping her and she had no power to stop her. Not yet.

The pain lanced at first then began to fade. Suddenly it was as if her entire body was wracked and locked into place. The pain was gone.

"You have done well Satsuki, but your success is marred by a dark shadow. Talk to me about this Guyver and what you have learned. Tell me about this threat and we shall proceed from there." Satsuki had not held anything back in her reports, but those were confirmed facts. Her mother wanted her conjecture and theory here.

 _We are threatened, but I think not so much as you Ragyo, are threatened by the thought of a human beyond your control._ The traitorous thought did not show on her face, but Satsuki knew the ultimate plan for Life Fibers had met something dangerous in the Guyver. Nothing Inumuta had come up with seemed even close to being able to stop him either.

"Very well Mother, let us talk." The 2 more powerful women in the world right now discussed how to cage the beast that had wandered into their web of fibers.

* * *

 **Main Base - Nudist Beach**

Sho felt sick as Mikisugi talked. He had been a teacher long enough to keep the lecturing tone as he outlined the monstrous truth of the Life Fibers. For Sho it was as if he was back at the camp site as Murakami told all of them the truth of the world.

 _The Creators were making the base of a biological weapon, adaptable and suited to their needs to survive._

 _Life Fibers chose mankind as its food and molded him to be of use to it. It accelerated their evolution and guided him down the path needed._

 _After billions of years of experimentation, the Creators settled for mankind as their base weapon, to be optimized into a variety of other forms called Zoanoids._

 _Only Mankind wears clothing, because that is what the Life Fibers needed. The tradition of clothing carries to this day._

 _One day the Creators wondered what 2 of their weapons would do if combined, the Bioboost Armor and a human. It was a game to them! It was beyond powerful, 100 times more than when the Creators themselves used._

 _Mankind reached the pinnacle of this world, but only to be of service to the Life Fibers._

 _It was out of control, no longer subservient to the Creators, or in their language….Guyver._

 _The Original Life Fiber went into dormancy until 20 years ago, now it is back to harvest its human crop._

 _The Creators left suddenly, but Chronos found and used their remaining technology to continue the plan. The optimized humans, Zoanoids, were to rule this Earth._

Sho watched as Ryuko exploded and absorbed the information about the Life Fibers, not knowing the horrible parallels between their worlds. It was so similar it was sickening. How many Earths like this? How many times have people been killed or their lives destroyed over and over?

He did not want this information anymore, he did not want to realize how close to the same this alternate Earth was to his. It was too much even to learn that mankind was just weaponry for some alien race on his Earth, but here they were food.

He was not sure which was worse.

* * *

"That is a load of crap!" Ryuko exploded after a long silence and then stunningly flung Senketsu off and stood there in only her under garments! Normally he would have blushed but the wash of emotions left Sho raw and empty. Normal reactions were not in him.

"Senketsu is not just some weapon to use on his own kind, he has a will of his own and I will not simply fight to kill with him!" The words pierced the darkness of his thoughts and brought his own back from a cave when all hope had seemed lost then as well.

 _If the Guyver created these problems, then the Guyver will solve them!_ He had promised to stop Chronos and save the world. He wanted to protect his friends and would use the terrible power of the Guyver to do it.

It was not what the Guyver was supposed to be, but it was what he chose to make of it, and the Gigantic was his extension of that. Power to stand up to the Zoalords and stop the madness they were inflicting on innocent people.

The tense situation was diffused by both Senketsu and Mako, in their usual antics that brought a smile to his face.

 _Are you all right Sho?_ He was startled by the kamui's insight to his turmoil but nodded and smirked to prove it. Ryuko had helped remind him, but now they had the truth. It was time to move forward.

They all filed into a control room where a further revelation shocked them all. Satsuki was organizing a celebration of her victories and combining it with the field test of the Life Fibers! The very stadium that was the entrance to the Academy would be the horrible beginning of this nightmare. Their "X" Day was coming.

"We have to stop this! We have to get back!" Ryuko spoke for them all and Sho nodded he would be returning as well. Mikisugi went to get transport and weapons while Ryuko wandered off to the surface.

* * *

Ryuko felt the anger fade as she faced the stars. They were leaving early in the morning but she could not sleep tonight. She watched as mohawk man continued his obsession with training and fighting. He would never stop, same as always.

She also saw a silhouette far off but easily visible under the moon. Sho had been unusually quiet and out of the way. He had eaten though, Mako made sure they had all eaten. It was debatable if the treats of Osaka counted as a meal, but it was something.

 _He seems to be better now but still troubled._ Senketsu showed a disturbing trend at mind reading, but she saw a slight wave from her friend before he hopped down. He could hear the blasted kamui from even that far away?

Although they had learned he was talking to them in their minds, it was still disturbing.

 _You got angry for me Ryuko, but you were worried about him too. He is better, but the danger remains. The Nudists do not have weapons I think would be effective against those creatures._ Senketsu was right. Guns and knives did not affect her, they would not bother those monsters.

She was very worried about that random factor. Thus far they had been extremely lucky from what Sho described was available to Chronos. The Rift limited it thankfully, but clearly they were learning. What would they do if something came through that only Sho could fight? What would Satsuki do?

Those questions remained unanswered as such a powerful being could not be conceived to her.

* * *

 **Ragyo Stadium - Cultural and Sports Festival Day**

Ragyo felt elation at the silence of the crowd. The red fibers glowed brightly as they began to feed on the humans inside the cocoons. The field test of the activation signal was a success! She was a grotesque monster in the white dress and ornate braided hair. The glow of her light blazed even in the sun.

"Guyver!" Another light blazed from the sky as the blue armored boy floated down and the thrusters of a strange machine echoed in the silence. She watched amused as they stopped in horror at the scene around them.

She finally saw this Senketsu, a decent knock off, but still just a knock off kamui. She was more intrigued with the boy and his armor who had suddenly vanished. She heard heavy foot falls and watched in stunned amazement as one cocoon after another was shredded by him. There was nothing in the reports of this!

"Stop him, you cannot stop this da—" The word was cut short as a sword pierced her from behind and through the heart.

"On the contrary, Inumuta!" The slim Elite brought out his control pad and pressed a single button. She watched in frustration as all the humans were freed unharmed.

"Wha—?" The fools that had come to save the people here were now stopped in stunned awe as Satsuki impaled Ragyo on the back of the main throne. Blood flowed down her chin but she never felt fear as her hear, wrists, and legs were pierced and secured.

"You are taking over Satsuki?" She doubted it but the anger and hatred she had seen for years truly blossomed in this moment.

"I am rebelling against you and you are now in my fortress I built to fight you! Students!" As one the student body assembled in to shining white Goku uniforms and the Elite 4 stood proudly behind their President.

Ragyo only smiled at the fools. If they thought they had won, they were sorely mistaken.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

It had taken the better part of a month to get agreement. It had been frustrating to learn how long it would take to be ready. They had no idea if the Guyver would return with allies on par with Zoanoids, but nothing like this could be rushed. They could only hope the clear factions opposing each other over there would buy them the time they needed.

Arcenfel blazed with power as he began the preparations for Balcus and a few other Zoalords to assume his responsibilities in his absence. There was so much to do and with him gone, it would take longer to get things done. Thus, the delay. A very frustrating delay.

The being that fancied himself a demigod, did not like to be kept waiting, but his plans were too important to just drop everything. Guyver I and this "Matoi" would feel the full brunt of his frustration soon enough.

The hunt for Guyver III had failed again as well, fueling even more ire. One enemy known, but the other out of reach. The lord of Chronos was very displeased as he waited for Balcus to arrive and begin his journey through dimensions.


	17. Chapter 17 - Battle of Ragyo Stadium

_Sho and Ryuko rushed to the Ragyo Stadium, the altered form of Honnouji Academy, to save their loved ones and innocents from Life Fibers. Instead they have been shocked that Satsuki has rebelled and pinned in lethal wounds her own mother to the throne that overlooks the grounds. Ragyo neither dies nor looks distressed. The world has been flipped in the chaos but under it all the Guyver keeps fighting._

* * *

Ryuko seethed at the arrogance of Satsuki as her raven hair flowed in the wind and she declared her rebellion to her mother. She was fighting against the Life Fibers but had put everyone through Hell to get here.

 _Calm down Ryuko, we do not have time for distractions._ Indeed, Senketsu was right. Things were getting way out of hand and the Elite 4 seem to have their hands full with a newly arrived Nui. The whole stadium was chaos and the clothes on everyone was still a danger.

"Why did you attack us if we were on the same side?" Mikisugi asked the question she wanted to know most but it was Gammagorri who answered.

"In order to fight we had to seem like we were on their side and outside of the Elite 4, none knew our true intentions. Also, an enemy not strong enough to fight us, was of no worth in the war against Life Fibers." Ryuko seethed all over again but then jumped as Sho began to laugh inside the Guyver.

"What is so funny to you?" She was curious as the laughter seemed of relief and amusement rolled into one.

"Just a feeling I had when I first saw you and Satsuki fight as kamui. She is more like Agito than I thought." The reference escaped her but all attention was yanked around as the cross on top of the throne broke into pieces. Ragyo was not there!

"I will be taking this army of yours Satsuki!" Ragyo was among the students! They all became blank faced at once and then turned in unison to face forward. Ryuko felt her skin crawl and Sho made a grumble next to her as well.

"Exactly like Agito." She was confused until she saw Satsuki explode into the mass of students with no restraint. She was going to get them killed!

"Damn you Satsuki!" She cursed the ice cold heart this person had but then the controlled students not near the President were coming after her. Unlike Satsuki, a simple 1 or 2 Star was no problem for her without Senketsu in synchronization mode.

"Sho, I have got these, get Ragyo!" He was more than strong enough to stop a monster like that, she hoped. Cracking her knuckles, Ryuko dove into the melee.

* * *

Sho watched the dark clad form of his friend and smiled at her energy. At some point Mako had wandered off, but knowing her luck, she was fine even in this. The swirl of emotion from the revelations had long since settled, but this turn was again all too familiar.

That feeling of it being familiar caused a level of unease in him because if the path went the same way from his Earth, something was coming. Something very bad was coming. There was no time to be distracted by what if, he had a monster of this world to fight.

If piercing attacks did not have lethal effect, he would have to try a gravity blast or two. He saw the light of the woman in question as she lorded over the chaos she had created. An assistant was by her left side, but she would not be an issue for him.

"Stop this, there must be another way!" Sho heard the words come from him in the hopes that the similarities would stop, but Ragyo did not even speak. She just looked at him and in those eyes he saw no mercy, no understanding, just amusement and dark hunger.

Sighing, Sho went to work.

* * *

Ragyo had been curious when this would happen and she waved off Hoomaru and met this boy in battle. He held himself well and balanced in a stance that would allow attack or defense. His head had silver orbs that seemed to flex and move, keeping track of his surroundings. It was as Satsuki had reported, he was a living thing wrapped in another living thing.

The parallel to Life Fibers was interesting, but clearly it was different to that bond she knew. He might even be close to her in power.

"Come at me boy!" She smiled wide as he blurred to her sight but he was straightforward in his attacks. She easily grasped both his hands as they stood toe to toe. She was still surprised, he was on par with her strength and supposedly he could become stronger. Still, she was not truly trying to fight so much as measure him.

If the human inside could be tamed, this power would make her invincible! What a lovely thought!

She shifted her weight back and the Guyver adapted beautifully to leap back and not lose balance forward. He was smart to keep control, but it would be his last move.

"So many mistakes daughter, but bringing this boy here is likely the worse of all." She laughed as the thread wove around the Guyver's head. The blue glow in the center of the forehead flared and shock was all she could feel as the threads were shredded in her eyes.

"Maybe I have neglected to mention this, but my name, what I am called in this form has a meaning. I am out of control, beyond the reach of its Creators…or in their language…Guyver!" The blue armor blurred again, but this time she saw after images as he circled around her and her ears exploded in pain as a sonic attack hit her hard.

He followed it up with explosions of concrete that further blurred her senses. He must be building up to something but she could not fathom what. Red light pierced the clouded area and hit her limbs. The pain was deep but her body could heal that easily, yet she knew she would not have time. Glowing blades appeared in the fog, higher than the boy should be and he descended from the sky with her destruction clear on his mind. She saw him look right at her and she smiled at his audacity to think it would be this easy.

* * *

Sho felt his blades pierce the monster in human form in front of him. It was disturbing how she had smiled at the end, but there was no other choice. An innocent turned into a monster gave him pause, but someone like Ragyo only fueled his fury at all the callous actions they took to achieve their goals. People were just things to them.

He saw blood fountain around him but he never let his guard down. It was that long ingrained practice when fighting Aptom that saved his life. He felt the danger and reflexively hopped out of the way. The body was still fighting?!

He watched in horror as a smiling head was reattached with almost no issue. How strong was her healing factor?! Even Aptom, for all his recovery from a few cells, did not just pick up his own limbs and reattach them!

"It would seem while your weapons are impressive, they cannot kill me boy!" Sho felt sweat break out at the confidence from this creature. He suddenly noticed that red was coming off of her right hand and followed it to…Ryuko!

"My daughter has made many mistakes today, but bringing you two here will be her undoing. I suspect you will not be so vicious to this interfering fool." Satsuki looked his way but he had no time to converse as a now controlled Ryuko came at him! He was stunned at her strength and agility with the scissor blade without being in Life Fiber Synchronization mode.

He was stuck and there was no way he could fully attack Ryuko.

"Matoi! Are you going to continually disappoint me as you are controlled by Ragyo!" Satsuki's voice was clear and seemed to have no effect on Ryuko. Sho dodged the attacks as best he could but it was clear Ryuko still had her knowledge of him to use. She was predicting his attacks and he could not keep up with her speed anymore.

"RYUKO!" Sho yelled her name as she charged at him and he had no way to stop her. The scissor blade whistled through the air right at his head! Sho closed his eyes against the pain to come and wondered if he would wake again.

The blade had stopped just at his neck, he felt it sever the armor of the Guyver just slightly. He opened one, then another eye to see Ryuko frozen. Her muscles were quivering and the blade slid closer still. Sho held perfectly still as suddenly a strand of hair turned bright red to his eyes.

Ryuko began bleeding as she seemed to pull red threads from her skull and collapse on the ground heaving.

"Damn Ragyo, we are not so easily controlled." Sho laughed and he saw the smile on Satsuki as well. Sho was about to turn around when the world went black.

* * *

Ryuko froze as blood fountained down on her. It had been so quick she had missed it entirely. The blue armor was turning crimson in front of her but it still stood as the still blue head landed a few yards away. Her mind saw it but did not want to register what she was seeing.

Shock gave way to rage as an all too familiar laugh revealed Nui holding her blooded half of the scissors.

"It seemed such a waste not to finish the job Ryuko-chan." She stood in her pristine pink dress and smiled with her single eye at Ryuko as the Guyver continued to stand. Both jumped as the body seemed to change and turn to Nui. It lost all blue and became dark. There was an almost animal quality to it now.

Even without a head, it charged at Nui directly and with far more speed than Ryuko could follow. The whole battlefield paused at this unexpected display from the Guyver. Ryuko stopped caring as she walked carefully over to the head of her friend.

It was still encased in the armor and it had not changed. Hot tears threatened to overwhelm her, but her recent incident rang clear in her head. She could not afford to lose control again.

 _I am here for you Ryuko, always._ The warmth from Senketsu filled her a bit, but the hole left by Sho was too fresh. She set his head down and turned to see what had happened.

Nui was bleeding but seemed more freaked by the fact the body of the Guyver continued to advance on her. It was viciously attacking her but Nui did not seem to go down or become too injured. It was also clear that the Guyver was slowing down. Without the head it was following its last commands and seemed like it was just not aware it was without a head.

Ryuko jumped as it sped up for one last burst and threw Nui across the stadium with ease. It stopped at that point and just collapsed as it was consumed from with in. The power was out of control and it burned the body inside and without.

"Satsuki, your mother is yours, I am taking Nui." Her voice was calm and unexpectedly she felt a cool hand on her shoulder. She looked up into eyes she had never seen on Satsuki, the eyes of someone who understands.

"My mother is not for you to give, killing her has been my life long ambition." How she would kill that monster was unclear, but they knew she could heal from decapitation now, so maybe a few more tricks would bring her down.

They nodded to each other and parted for their respective enemies. Neither noticed that the head was still intact on the ground behind them.

* * *

Ragyo was in shock and frustration. Ryuko Matoi had broken free from her Mind Stitching with ease. There was only one answer to that and it angered her. Still, it was the best news yet as well. Her rebellious daughter now faced her with calm composure, but she knew Satsuki was at a loss now. She had no weapons that could defeat her anymore.

It was time to end this as Nui was being outclassed even more by Ryuko. Hoomaru had the Elite 4 pinned and the Guyver was dead. They had won. She flew across the space between her and Satsuki, who tried to use her pathetic sword to stop her. Ragyo enjoyed shattering that as she pummeled her daughter to within an inch of her life.

"You forced Junketsu onto you Satsuki. To the ignorant that may seem like control, but you barely use him. Without his power, you could not stand before me, but without mastering it you stood no chance. You have failed and I will be taking it back now." She held her by the throat over the stadium and flung her to the ground. It was time to bring this farce of a rebellion to the end. The Covers were coming.

* * *

Ryuko was easily defeating Nui but was distracted at the end as Satsuki was flung, nearly naked, across the sky into the wall. Ragyo now had Junketsu and the sky filled with suits connected by red threading.

"My shameful daughter's rebellion has come to naught, but I must thank her for one thing." Ragyo vanished and appeared behind Ryuko. "I never thought I would see you again" The kamui hand pierced her chest and it was like a stone was there now.

Ryuko wondered if she would die quickly or slowly, but realized that while there was pain, she did not feel darkness closing in. Instead light came, ruby light from her own heart!

"Ryuko Matoi, you are my daughter!" The smiling face of the monster was too much for her and she jumped away. Her nerves were already rattled and could not take the shock.

 _Ryuko!_ Senketsu was barely heard over the throbbing of the quickly retracting heart. What was she?! What did all this mean?! What was going on?!

She got no time to absorb any of it as the world exploded around them all. Satsuki had activated her final option to stop Ragyo from using Honnouji Academy.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Agito had felt it again. He had felt Fukamachi die. He kept this from the Segawas and went off somewhere to summon the Guyver. As soon as the armor was on he tried summoning the Gigantic. Unlike any other time he was not frustrated when it did not answer his call.

It meant that while Fukamachi had died, he was not gone. The Guyver would not let him die so long as the control metal was stable. He disengaged the armor and began to re-think his strategy. Until now they had simply evaded or distracted Chronos. They kept them far from their true bases and tried to tie up resources that might be applied to the world or Guyver I. Now enough time had passed that something had changed.

The forces Chronos used seemed distracted. There was something in the works and it could spell nothing good. His few sources stated it was not progress on the Dead Sea project, but something with the Executive of Chronos, Arcenfel.

It was a short list of what could distract the CEO of Chronos from his master plans for the world. The only thing he could think was that Fukamachi had destroyed all forces sent against him, meaning that not only was he alive, but allies were there. Allies that could fight Zoanoids.

That would be the only thing that could explain the quiet they experienced right now. Even with the world at their disposal, the Thunderbolts were not the only resistance against Chronos. It was this random factor that had saved him more than once. He had sacrificed a few to do so as well. Misinformation kept Chronos from finding him and so long as he lived, the world had hope.

It irked him that most of the world thought of Guyver I before him, but realistically Fukamachi had always drawn more attention, good and bad. Now they had to change tactics to save him. If that made him more infamous, all the better.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

Rain fell from the skies, much as the Covers wandered Honno town now. It had been a few days since the battle between Ragyo and Nudist Beach with Satsuki and Ryuko allied against her. In the end it was a loss for humanity as the Life Fibers now moved in the open.

Mataro had seen his sister swallowed by one of these cursed outfits and he would find her. He also helped the local haven collect any stragglers and this was the last sweep through the rubble of the destroyed Academy.

He was just about to turn a corner when he saw it. It stood atop one of the piles of rubble with ease and looked up at the sky. It was as tall as he remembered and for a moment, he thought he was dreaming.

Suddenly it disappeared in an eye blink and truly might have been a mirage. A shadow fell over him and he saw one of the Covers was about to swallow him. It was shredded by glowing blue blades that came from the elbows of a different shadow.

"A Guyver never dies." The blue armored man looked down at him and Mataro felt hope for the first time in a long time as he ran into the open arms of one he thought dead.


	18. Chapter 18 - Archanfel Arrives

_The world of Honnouji Academy had come to a pause. Japan was falling to the Covers slowly but surely as days rolled into weeks, then months. The rest of the world strangely ignored it, but Revocs clothes were everywhere. From simple shirts and jeans to full suits, the Life Fibers blinded the world to the growing danger in Japan. It had been 4 months since Satsuki demolished Ragyo Stadium._

 _Ryuko was in a coma far from Ragyo and Revocs activities. Mako had been swallowed by one of the Covers so her location was unknown. The Elite 4 teamed up with Nudist Beach to save who they could and ally with the outer bases Satsuki had set up all over Japan._

 _The fight is not going as hoped. With the loss of Junketsu and Satsuki, and no Ryuko or Senketsu either, left the Elite 4 and Nudist forces severely out manned. Rather than resisting the Life Fibers, the fighters are being taken as more Covers power cores._

 _Both the Nudist and Revocs sides think the Guyver to be dead, but only a small group in Honno Town know of his return. Sho does his best to protect the remaining humans while keeping his existence a secret, but he knows the months slipping away gives Chronos the most dangerous commodity of all…time._

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

It was not that impressive to look at. The facility had not been expanded beyond a structure of steel and glass the size of a large barn to house some basic monitoring equipment and Zoanoids. The main entrance looked out onto the sunrise and had monitors with a few desks manned by low level analysts normally.

Today the pristine interior only held 2 individuals, the hunched over form of Dr Balcus and the slim form of Archanfel. They were waiting for the other side of the small structure to change. Like what housed it, the Rift was just a barely seen ripple in the air, not that impressive at all. Considering the dangers beyond it and all the optimization needed for most Zoanoids to pass through it, Archanfel had expected something a bit grander.

The only Zoanoid to go through and return had re-entered the Rift a few hours ago. Balcus had been getting strange readings and wanted to be sure neither the Guyver nor his new allies had prepared something for any Zoanoid coming through.

"This is taking too long Balcus." Archanfel had spent far too many months preparing for his departure and now they were held up by the worries of his right hand man. Still, he had not picked Balcus as his first Zoalord simply because of an impulse.

The Lord of Chronos smiled his impish grin as the ripple in air began to swirl and spin. No wind accompanied this change, but the feel on his body was of power. There was power in the Rift beyond anything even the ancient Zoalord could truly fathom. The fact the Creators could pierce this kind of power, even with a remnant of a single ship, did not surprise him.

They were not Gods, but their knowledge and manipulation of biology was on par with technological as well.

The crystalline humanoid emerged bloody but without any apparent issues. It was dragging some kind of clothing behind it with red threads trailing.

"Things seem to have changed slightly my lords. There were no humans but this giant network of threading in the sky and these living clothes were connected to it. I believe they were trying to enclose me to make the more free moving versions that attacked me on the way back." He tossed it down and Archanfel could indeed see what seemed to be an eye barely open on one of the trailing threads.

This changed things slightly, but now he appreciated the wait. Archanfel smiled. It had become almost too easy on Earth for him. His plans were thwarted and slowed by the Guyvers true, but since X Day, the world had become more about paperwork and boring bureaucracy. This trip suddenly seemed far more entertaining.

"It would seem I need to set the terms of my arrival. Where is their leader?" Energy blazed and both Void and Balcus stepped back slightly as the most powerful being on Earth suddenly seemed very dangerous. He was smiling.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

Honno Town had always been about order, the slums to the high rise always marking the place of each student and their families. Now all were equally overrun by Covers. The weaker Covers were lower from the sky in red balls of thread to examine different areas, anywhere the Life Fibers felt human life.

There were some left, their sense for food told them so, but the scattered destruction from the battle at Ragyo Stadium had been left much in place despite the rebuilding of the Academy. The Human Covers also patrolled, but more of guards for Ragyo and Nui as they worked to the final plan.

The Original Life Fiber guided both of these creatures, but it was not as adaptable by itself without help, hence Ragyo had been taken as nearly an avatar of the Life Fiber's will on Earth. The human factor was why they were nearly done with the planet after so long in dormancy.

Ragyo could command the Covers in many ways, but if they did not understand what was happening, it generally came as a confused request. Right now she was getting a number of confused images from the Slums that suddenly cut off all at once.

The blazing light from the woman in the shone now in irritation, but then she located the source and felt a chill enter her veins. The white dress seemed too constricting as the reports from her traitorous daughter now came to her. The monsters that could easily stand up to most Goku uniforms and the last attack during the time of the National Election finals.

Theoretically, the human form Covers were as strong as the Elite 4, and even though they were weak, the more flimsy base Covers could surround and ensnare any enemy. To have them all go silent at once was disturbing.

One moment they had relayed images of the ripple in the air, then the only thing she saw a golden flash. Nui continued to work on the new kamui, but she would only be bothered if her work was interrupted or Ryuko appeared. The bouncing blonde hair never wavered as Ragyo looked out over the changing arena. The base of the rocket was complete and the fuel had arrive but at least another month or 2 of work was needed.

She scanned the skies and the entrance quickly and used the many eyes of the Covers to see what she could find, but they saw nothing. Nothing in the air, the land, or hopping the buildings. What had happened down there?

"Your warriors are not that impressive woman, but I can feel you might be worth my time." Ragyo whirled to find Nui on the ground, alive but that was hardly surprising. The man was slim, young and every instinct she had screamed of danger.

She reacted beyond any human reaction time and sent Mind Stitching to ensnare this intruder. Golden light flared and the thread was burnt around him. He sneered, but quickly vanished from her sight again.

He was too fast!

The world tilted as she just registered the punch to her face. The far wall stopped her and now she felt rage fill her heart. These monsters felt they were superior to humans, but they were not superior to her!

With a thought she felt the answer from Junketsu. It would be a tight fit after its alterations, but that hardly mattered. She heard snickering laughter, but then the uniform displaced her dress and she activated Life Fiber Overridemode. She could see him now!

He was moving around her, barely slowing long enough to maintain his speed but not create a dust storm. She never moved her head but tracked him with her senses and her eyes.

"Ah, you can see me now. Good, I can make this interesting for me." She felt the attack before it hit this time. It was easy for her to grab his arm and use his momentum against him. The smile on her face froze then turned into a jaw drop as the man slowed then hovered in mid air!

"Better, much better!" He was smiling widely now and seemed to be considering what to do next. The Covers ensnared him and covered him in that moment. Shocked at the reverse he had done to her, Ragyo had not relied solely on the kamui to get her victory.

She felt joy that the Life Fibers may feed well on this man.

"You should know better than to challenge Ragyo—" Her voice trailed off as the clothes began to die! They were not being attacked, they were dying! They fell one by one to the ground blackened and withered.

"It would seem your pets do not like the taste of me, but then how could these pathetic pieces of cloth really harm a demigod?" His eyes were golden, and what Ragyo saw in them made her feel true fear. She had not felt actual fear for 20 years since she gave herself to the Original Life Fiber. Death could not touch her, nothing was beyond her, and the world was hers to take.

Facing this creature, she understood the folly of those thoughts.

"I need to make this clear to you, as from what I understand, you oppose my enemy. I am here for a single reason, to reclaim or destroy the Guyver I and then to add this world to my own. You can help me and become part of Chronos, or I can crush you where you stand." The man was floating now and Ragyo felt fear change.

She was being overpowered, but only because she did not understand her enemy. The mistake was hers, but he did not understand the danger to himself either.

"I think not, NUI!" He arched his eyebrow in confusion but then the scissor blade pierced his body from behind.

"Tee hee hee hee. You could have been fun, but Lady Ragyo is a bit busy right now and so am I." The surprise on the youth did not turn to pain or panic as blood spilled down his pale suit to the bare earth below. If anything, he seemed intrigued by Nui.

"Lord Archanfel, I have done as requested and suppressed the boundary around the Academy." Ragyo saw a creature from the reports, humanoid crystalline. It was almost violently purple in the sunlight but its lack of worry at its leader's injury gave Ragyo pause.

She watched with new fear as, with a tired sigh, this Archanfel removed the blade and his flesh began to heal.

"I will admit that was a well executed attack, but unless you actually have something more impressive, this may have been a waste of my time. You would not like to waste my time." Ragyo saw the anger in him, but she was not going to bow to anyone, not even this creature.

Once again, Honnouji Academy would be a battlefield between two overpowered opponents.

* * *

Sho felt it even in the slums of Honno Town. The Guyver used all its senses to remotely feel the battle that was sounding like thunder this far away. One of them had to be Ragyo or Nui, but the other was what he feared more.

After testing with regular Zoanoids, with no expectation of beating him probably, Chronos had sent more powerful variants. They had tried Hyper-Zoanoids and those had lost as well. They could try a Lost Number, but those were unlikely to obey the commands of a Zoalord. That last word made Sho gulp, but he truly doubted one of them would come here.

 _Fukamachi. Fukamachi, if you can hear me, if you are regenerated by now, Arc—_ It had been over 2 weeks ago that he had felt a message from Agito but it had been so weak it broke off part way. Sho did not know what he had been trying to send, but as his senses finally reached the stadium, he felt horror at something far too familiar.

"We have to go now!" The Guyver turned to Mataro and his band of survivors. He saw the stubborn glint in the eyes just below his goggles but the fear in his voice must have carried over. Sho had no idea for certain where to go, but after 4 months, he had confirmed the Nudists had come for most of the survivors right after the explosion.

They had to head towards Osaka and pray they did not attract attention as they went. It was frustrating that he might have the best odds to face and defeat Archanfel, but with all the Covers, he stood no chance.

Ironically, his enemy was giving him the best chance at escape from the dangers of Honno Town and the Covers. They were all heading towards the Academy.

"I only hope this will get us back to Ryuko." Sho saw the survivors quickly get their things faster as the sound of 'thunder' got louder. He could only hope Ragyo could hold out against the most frightening Zoalord he had ever met. He was about to leave when he felt a tiny sliver of familiarity in the storm of Ragyo and Archanfel.

* * *

Archanfel was not amused. At first, the reports of strength seemed over exaggerated, but then the strange uniform with eyes had come onto the woman Ragyo. Her power had been increased beyond expectations, but still far below his concern.

What did have him annoyed, was the damage he inflicted on both of these insects did not seem to slow them down much. He saw lethal wounds barely bleed, then heal as he watched. He had dismembered, shredded, and in general done everything short of vaporizing them.

He was reluctant to kill the best sources of information, and Void waited as ordered. He had done passably well, but his fragility made combat beyond him with these two. The Zoalord was not used to restraint, in fact it was well beyond him. The Creators had not meant him to ever be restrained.

The Lord of Chronos decided he had had enough of this.

His flesh began to stretch and change as his suit was stretched and torn by his true form. Both females stopped in awe, or surprise as he became his true self. His golden aura could not be restrained in this form as he now towered over over them.

It felt so much better to be as he was mean to be. The human form had uses and was essential for using the technology of the world, but Archanfel was meant to be like this. His limbs were lengthened, but full of power. His head had widened with his shoulders and now he glowed with all his crystals.

"I believe I told you, do not resist a demigod." He slammed them to the ground as they now seemed to move so slowly. They were still healing, but he gave them no time to attack now. He now understood that victory would not be achieved without crushing their spirit.

He now felt all the threads in the sky and saw they were connected. He smirked as an idea came to him. He focused his considerable telepathic talent at the threads and felt a basic intelligence, but clever, behind it.

He did not care about it, he just wanted control. It was taking all of his power to focus and he commanded Void to keep the women down for the moment, their thrashed bodies would need time to heal for now.

In his single minded focus, the Lord of Chronos missed a dark shadow flit between the frozen Covers.

* * *

The room was deep in the Academy. She had been left here both as prisoner, and punishment. She was filthy as she was hung by her wrists in manacles inside the steel cage. Ragyo had been flaunting her failures both as a daughter and leader of the resistance against the Life Fibers.

Satsuki had found humility and pride in her cage. She would never bow to the monster that was her mother nor the Life Fibers. She knew she was making something more dangerous than they had faced before, a kamui that would make Junketsu and Senketsu possibly nothing. She had been trapped here for months, but it was time to escape yet.

She heard the sound of battle, but it was not the kind she expected. It was more like when she and Matoi had fought, yet it seemed more fearsome. She felt the bloodlust in the air and oddly, she felt a tremor of fear. She had felt some fear for various reasons, and shame at the way she had treated people.

These thoughts were interrupted as the door to the room was cut open by blades. Shock rocked Satsuki as she saw the impossible emerge from the destroyed doorway.

"We have no time to waste Satsuki," the Guyver sliced the cage open and her manacles as well in one go, "We have to go while he is distracted." He swept her into his arms and pounded out the hall.

She was confused to see the Covers frozen and almost swaying as if listening to something. She saw through the windows a massive glowing golden being standing over the broken but healing bodies of Ragyo and Nui. Blood matted both of them, but she knew neither blood loss or injury would keep them down.

"He is Archanfel, Lord of Chronos." The Guyver never looked at him to her knowledge but she felt fear now. This was something that controlled those monsters? They came to a hole in the exterior wall and the Guyver floated down to the ground below. He kept going, hopping one roof to the next and away from the Academy.

She began to hear laughter and all the Covers converged on the stadium.

"What is happening?" Her voice was hoarse, but she saw the orbs move on the Guyver's head.

"He is telepathic. Likely he has wrenched control of the local Life Fibers to his will. We need to get out of here now!" He was moving faster and the wind reminder Satsuki she had no clothing at all. She did not tell him to stop though, she heard the screams of rage from Ragyo. She knew that this Archanfel had done what her trusted Elites and the Academy could not. He now had Ragyo.

The slums surrounded them quickly as the Covers vanished. He brought her to a group of survivors and quickly got her clothes to cover herself.

"We are heading for Osaka, can you move?" He was looking back at the Academy, but she suspected he was looking at her as well.

She flung her filthy hair and stood proudly before them all.

"I will go wherever I can to bring down the Life Fibers and Ragyo." It was a bit of bravado to burn away the fear, but she felt the Guyver now stare at her and he turned slowly to face her fully.

"You are wrong Satsuki, the Life Fibers are not a problem anymore, Chronos is." With those calmly spoken words he motioned them all to get moving. The small band left followed a larger that made its way out of Honno Town across the bridge.

The chill in the air is not what made her shiver, but the firm conviction that this man who had defeated death was telling the truth, a new monster threatened the world now.

* * *

Ragyo flailed, but nothing moved. Junketsu still obeyed, but nothing else. The Covers bound her and Nui in bonds stronger than any steel. The creature had returned to his human form, nude but not bothered at all by it.

"Now, as I was saying before…kneel." The fibers made both her and Nui fall to their knees. Ragyo would not yield to this creature, no one could make her yield.

 _Oh I rather think you are wrong about that human. You see I can now reach you here as well as outside of your mind. So far as I am concerned, I can destroy this world, but I want the Guyver._

"I killed him." Nui was not afraid either, but truly she seemed to not be bothered by the situation. She stared up with her single eye at the being that had captured them. Both of them jumped as he began to laugh.

"VOID!" The other creature hopped down easily and smiled at them.

"I saw it in your records, you only beheaded the Guyver, never hurting the control metal." He now stood over them and leaned down into their faces. "A Guyver, never dies."

The realization of what they were saying made both women pale as Archanfel continued to laugh at their foolish assumptions.

Ragyo looked up but even his threats would not break her. She ruled this world, it was her time to bring about the final plan of the Life—

Pain wracked her like nothing she had ever felt. She could hear Nui screaming as well.

"I admire pride and stubborn fighting, but I have all the Zoalords I need. What I want now is simple information and obedience. If you do well, i will leave and not care what you do. If you continue to defy me." Even preparing for it, the pain was too much to bear.

Sweat pored down her face and the fibers did not keep her on the ground now.

"The difference between you and I is really simple. You took power for your own goals, I was _born_ with power to wield as I wished. You are subservient to a simple creature while I was made by Gods. I am loathe to waste my time as I have a great deal to do. So, if you were the Guyver, where would you be right now?" Ragyo felt hatred looking up at him, but now she could smile.

"You fool! I was in control of all the Covers, but you have broken the link to the only thing that could have helped you find him now!" She was able to laugh as he felt the truth from her and Archanfel was left with the choice to re-empower the Life Fibers to her, or look blindly for his enemy.

She was beaten, battered, and not in control, but this 'demigod' had slit his own throat in his victory. She was able to laugh fully as the man actually deflated at the truth of his situation.

"Now it is my turn Archanfel. You will submit to MY will and perhaps we can both get what we want much faster." She glanced at the destruction of the stadium and was relieved to see the rocket and its fuel were just barely intact.

She felt all the Life Fibers and Covers return to her.

He shrugged at her and with his resigned golden eyes held out his hand.

"We have an accord." One monster to another they aligned their powers together. Neither trusted the other but that was not needed. One hunted the Guyver, the other hunted Ryuko Matoi. Both sought the end of the human world.


	19. Chapter 19 - Hard Truth

_The worst outcome has happened for Sho and Ryuko. Ragyo, mostly thanks to her connection to the Life Fibers and practical Immortality, has forced Archanfel to accept an alliance of convenience. The result has been 2 months of nightmare._

 _With the alliance confirmed, Archanfel has had more Hyper-Zoanoids moved over, barely 20 of them survived optimization. The human-Covers now wander Japan in search of their prey. The Zoanoids have clear orders to take any humans alive to the Covers and find the Guyver I._

 _Sho has escaped with Satsuki towards Nudist Beach, but where the journey could have been hours or days, they have been forced to find back routes and keep their group under the radar of not only the Covers, but Zoanoids as well._

 _Nearly 2 months have passed, 6 since the battle of Ragyo Stadium, and now humanity in Japan is in the minority as the ruthless allies of the Life Fibers prove their worth in brutal strength and relentless hunting._

* * *

 **Outskirts of Osaka**

Satsuki had learned great humility since her failure at Ragyo Stadium, but in the last 2 months, she had also learned the depth of the true Sho Fukamachi. The boy he had pretended to be at Honnouji Academy was just that, an illusion. He was a fully blooded warrior that had been robbed of his innocence long ago.

Since his rescue of her, something he had not discussed at all, he had constantly been equipped in the Guyver. According to the others, he had gone without it in Honno town to sleep, but now he was in it all the time. She never saw him sleep outside of it, but sleep he seemed able to do.

She would have confronted him about it if not for the clear need for his skills to warn them. The first month had been relatively simple with avoiding or destroying the connected Covers from the Original Life Fiber. Sho easily shredded them with his blades or burned them with his head beam.

The 2nd month he had ordered them to hide in a cave even she had now known about and stay quiet. The tense moment was interrupted by guttural noises followed by 2 monstrosities she had not seen since Matoi lost complete control of her kamui.

She kept her steel blue eyes on the creatures as they clearly were following the scent or trail of the fleeing humans. She had been formulating a way to escape when the Guyver began to hum. It put her teeth on edge but the Zoanoids seemed to become confused and then the hum stopped.

The 2 nightmares on legs seemed to wander away in clear confusion and lost the scent completely

"Tetsuo will be pleased, we can disrupt them." Fukamachi breathed relief and stayed kneeling at the entrances as the silver orbs on his head moved constantly. Hours passed before he got them moving again. No one needed convincing.

He explained that his sound attack could destroy or disrupt a Zoanoids abilities and an ally of his had wondered if something more limited could drive away the creatures. Death would bring Zoalords attention, but just wandering off gave them nothing. He also mentioned it was his first attempt.

She also noticed how the 4 months with the small band of free humans had made him their leader, something he seemed to do without trying. She noted he acted more as guardian and only exerted his will to keep them moving now. Likely he did not see himself as their leader, but in this case anyone that could keep them safe kept them in power and the Guyver was undeniable.

Now he stood in the gentle rain as they saw the Covers closing in on the Nudist Beach headquarters. The sleek look was contradicted by the feeling of imminent violence.

"Satsuki, when you see my signal, get them to that base." She merely nodded and smirked as he took to the skies. She very much doubted she would miss his 'signal.' She saw explosions and people beginning to fight the Covers, one of which she saw was Gammagorri from her Elite 4.

"Any time Fukamachi." Satsuki used the boy Mataro to get the group ready as they lost sight of the Guyver in the dark clouds above the ruins of Osaka.

* * *

The Elite 4 was without their 3-Star Goku uniforms, without Life Fibers to fix them, they had worn them out in the 6 months of battle. All were Nudists now.

The humans they could save had been gathered in this last bastion and they were finally ready to test their new weapon. Gammagorri noticed the Mankanshoku dog, Guts, causing a ruckus near one of the human forms and made a leap of faith who made up its core.

The massive white tube on his arm extended to reveal rotating gears as he leaped with enormous frame to the target and struck it center. He grinned maniacally as he pulled the trigger and the Cover could not stop him.

With a pop, Mako Mankanshoku came flying out without any clothes at all, but unharmed!

"Ohhhh, when did I come back to Osaka! Mako Mankanshoku reporting for duty!" Mako remained Mako no matter the horrific experience.

"Let's get them—" Mikisugi did not finish before the Covers changed in front of them. They became some kind of harp shape and began to play a song that left all queasy and in pain.

"Are they trying to call me out?" Nonon glared at the Covers as she wished for her 3-Star Uniform to properly show them how music could be a weapon.

The ground ripped asunder as Ryuko, in a coma until now, rose from the base with scissor blade in hand. With a single swipe she wiped out the human Covers and freed the cores inside. She also sliced a building in half!

All were in shock at the raging Ryuko before the sky exploded in light, even Matoi looked up in awe.

The Covers waiting to take humans into them were obliterated and at the same time, Satsuki came running over the hill. Gammagorri smiled wide at that sight, but then blood drained as the Covers took the form of Ragyo and Nui with evil grins at Matoi! He was about to yell when red beams followed by vibrating blue blades shredded the avatars of the 2 hated women.

He also felt shock rob his legs of strength as the impossible stood before them.

The Guyver had returned from the dead!

* * *

Ryuko felt her blood burn at the world, yet seeing Sho alive seemed to burst some bubble inside her. He nodded to her and kept destroying every Cover in the sky and she went to work freeing the rest. She did not know where Senketsu was, or any clothes for that matter, just the blanket from her bed covered her at the moment.

The revelation she had on waking would not leave her. She was a weapon! Senketsu was not the weapon, she was! She was a monster! The thoughts looped over and over, the rage reigniting that all had known the truth and kept it from her. Rationality and logic left her completely.

 _Ryuko! You are awake!_ The joy in his voice did not reach her. She did not want to look at him as the battle ground settled. She wanted more to fight, more to destroy.

"Go away! I do not want to even look at you, it makes me sick." She felt his pain and closed her eyes against it and tilted her head to feel the rain. "I am not human, just a monster of Life Fibers. A monster!" She whirled with her sword to find Sho standing behind her.

He was rain slicked and wearing some dark shirt with jeans looking at her in complete understanding. His dark eyes did not judge, just understood. Senketsu was behind him and Sho was holding up his hand to keep him back.

"You once asked me Ryuko, to tell you something important. Something I promised to tell you." The eyes that were so full of understanding mirrored her pain. She did not want to hear it, did not want someone to understand. She wanted to lash out, but the stark pain in those eyes stilled her, held her.

"Go away—" She felt the slap after her head was smacked to the side. The sting did not disappear as she looked at Sho in stunned surprise. In the entire time she had known him, he had been timid, kind, and generally not into the violence the Guyver required him to do.

He had an anger in his face now, but it was gone quickly.

"You have no idea what has happened to me or those with me, how terrible things have become. You want to lash out, to hurt the world that has hurt you, but you are afraid to let people in. Did I miss anything?" The silence was stone across the battleground. He took that as affirmation and the understanding returned.

"You think you are a monster because you found out who you are, but at least you can take solace that you did not kill your father with your own hands. With your own power." The rain seemed to make the world go out of focus for Ryuko.

She realized it was tears. The pain in Sho's voice and eyes were ripping her anger to shreds.

"I killed Fumio Fukamachi with my megasmasher. I killed my father who had been turned into Enzyme II to kill me. I hated the Guyver and all it made me, it made me a monster. I woke up in the rain to find only my father's arm on the ground before it disintegrated in front of me. I wanted to run away too Ryuko. I did run away and it nearly cost the woman I love her life and my friends many times." Sho looked into the distance and saw anger return. "If the Guyver caused the problems however, then the Guyver will end them. The same is true for you and the Life Fibers. Your friends are here to help you."

He ran past her suddenly, mud sloshed and water flew as she recognized the look.

"GUYVER!" The world exploded in light as the armor closed around her friend. She saw them then, the Hyper-Zoanoids.

"GIGANTIC!" The shell appeared and the larger armor enclosed the Guyver. The shield snapped on as bio-LASERS flashed in the rain right at them. The rain vaporized where the beams were deflected. She realized Sho was protecting them all by being the focus for the monsters that had come for him.

"Matoi! Go help him!" Satsuki stood soaked to the skin in the rain next to her and it was like her body had lost all strength. She felt hollow, as if nothing of Ryuko Matoi remained now that Sho had robbed her of her rage.

The dismissal in those blue eyes did not even register right now. She saw Satsuki turn to Senketsu and talk to him. She could not hear him, so what would be the point. She stared in growing shock as Satsuki stripped and donned Senketsu.

Red light blazed and she watched them rush off to fight alongside the Guyver. Darkness closed in as all she could see was the dark shield of the Gigantic flare as the beams hit. Mikisuigi might have called her name, but the last thing she felt were the tears on her cheeks.

All the rage seemed pointless with the eyes of Sho burned into her mind. The eyes of a loving son that had been forced to kill his father and accept that he could not run away. What was her revelation compared to his? They were both not human anymore and yet they could not leave their humanity behind.

Darkness finally claimed her as the soaked ground rushed up to her.

* * *

Sho felt Ryuko collapse but had no time to help her as he and Satsuki fought the 5 Hyper-Zoanoids that had come. Archanfel would know where he was, but that could not be helped now. The raw emotions swirled from his memories burned, but he and Mitsuki had worked through a lot of it. He had come to accept what he had said once, now it was his turn to help Ryuko accept herself.

He had no strength left for the gigasmasher after 2 months of constant battle, but the Gravity blasts flew as Satsuki distracted them. He also noted that the blades from Senketsu hurt the Zoanoids. It was also helped as the Elite 4 appeared and brought the creatures down.

The bodies began to breakdown and he felt no immediate danger, but Archanfel would be coming, they all would be coming.

He disengaged the armor and suddenly the world tilted. He had pushed it too far and now he would collapse from exhaustion. He smiled that both he and Ryuko would be out cold with no explanation for any of what just happened.

He was about to hit the ground when something soft caught him.

"Honestly, you 2 are the same aren't you?" The recrimination was given gently and Sho realized Satsuki had caught him before falling. He glanced up to find her head looking down at him, and just before darkness closed in, he realized exactly where his head was!

 _Do not worry Sho, we won't tell anyone._ The amusement in Senketsu's voice was not reassuring.


	20. Chapter 20 - Darkness and Light

_The short, but brutal, reunion of Sho and Ryuko lead to the revelation of more Zoanoids to the Nudist Beach and its allies the Elite 4 of Honnouji Academy. With both Ryuko and Sho out of commission once more, Mikisugi feels there is no choice but to unleash the final great weapon of his organization, the Naked Sol._

 _The battleship has left Osaka as Inumuta has discovered various disturbing things at Honnouji Academy including a being the glows golden._

* * *

 **Honnouji Academy**

Archanfel had fought many battles and slogged through frustrating failures to achieve X Day where Zoanoids ruled the Earth. He also knew the Creators could come back any time to crush it all and he currently had no way to resist their control save the Guyver.

The humans had regained that power first and had been thorn in his side ever since. Guyot was at fault for that and had paid the price. Infuriatingly, he had taken the Guyver Remover with him, but a minor setback if they could capture one again.

Hammelcar had then unwittingly let Guyver I slip away to an alternate Earth and here his powers were frustratingly both powerful and limited! Only Zoanoids optimized to survive could pass through, and attempts to send technology through had failed miserably.

Now he felt all the Zoanoids save the 10 left at the academy were gone! They had cornered the blasted Guyver and the foolish humans with him, only to be slaughtered by a mere girl in a garment!

Golden power flared and the Zoanoids nearby trembled in fear as several of the Covers simply vanished from the world with a large portion of the entrance to the Academy's massive wall. The anger of this Zoalord was far more terrifying than anything else in any world.

"Awe, there was no need to do that mister!" the cute voice belied the bloodthirsty nature of the blonde girl in the pink dress. Her twin braids bounced infuriatingly and only added to his rage. The fact he could not kill her also annoyed him beyond any anger he had known to date. Her superior was off collecting some nuisance for this world as well, leaving this child in charge of some project making a dress mostly likely!

He had been stuck here waiting for confirmation of the Guyver's whereabouts, but instead he simply lost all but a handful of Zoanoids and these cursed pieces of clothe were useless!

"I love the look you are giving right now mister!" The glowing eye of adoration was off-putting even to the Zoalord. While he had heard of such humans, this was the first he had truly encountered like this. It made his anger vanish because honestly it was odd to bring her enjoyment like that.

"The Guyver and your precious girl have slipped away again! We had them and your Covers were useless. The girl was able to slay them and free the humans inside easily!" For a moment, the eye expanded in surprise, but then a wide smile spread.

"She just gets better and better! Oh I can't wait to see her again!" With that, the Grand Courtier turned and literally danced across the barren area between the wall and the Academy.

It was only then he noticed what was in her hand. It was the other outfit they called a kamui. Why wasn't she wearing that to magnify her abilities?

He had seen her power without it, and knew it would be enhanced to beyond any hope of defeat even against him, yet she wore nothing like the other humans here.

A splash of blood flashed in his memory. He remembered his attempt to see if the Life Fibers could further enhance the Hyper-Zoanoids. Instead they had died horribly, the Fibers destroyed with them. The optimization was anathema to the Life Fibers and vice versa.

The greatest worry was Guyver I. Despite equipping the unit, he was still human. Theoretically, it was possible that Life Fibers could enhance the human and Guyver could take it to an even further level. Shaking his blonde mane, the Lord of Chronos knew it was unlikely to happen as the enemy had no Life Fibers to use…

The sudden image of red flaring and a different woman than in the reports was using the other kamui. If it worked for another, could it work for the boy?!

The other side of the entrance vanished and 2 Zoanoids were obliterated in his rage.

* * *

 **Naked Sol**

 _I killed Fumio Fukamachi with my megasmasher._ Satsuki looked at the sleeping boy and remembered the words she barely heard over rain and battle. She had thought herself beyond empathy, even learning her sister was alive had shocked her, but she had quickly reasserted herself.

The raw pain in those words broke something in her, and she had been inflamed when Matoi had just stood there as he went off to fight the monsters. It was far duller, but looking at him now, it was more clear how kind he was. It must have nearly destroyed him to learn he had killed his father.

What had brought him back? What had restored the clearly deep pain he still carried? Part of it was curiosity, but part of it was for herself too. She had gone too far down the path of Ragyo and had nearly lost it all because of it. The world was not cut from the same cloth.

Matoi and this boy with all their might and power worked to protect the world or cleave to the truth behind its darkness. They had been scarred and left changed forever by it, but still they fought.

Now both had become asleep and would not wake. In the case of Fukamachi, she assumed massive exhaustion brought about by constant use of the Guyver. In the case of Matoi, likely it was more emotional exhaustion going from shock, to anger, to more shock was not likely good for her either. Senketsu refused to leave her side, but on occasion he had made the shape of the Guyver's distinctive head horn to ask about Fukamachi.

"Is there any change Lady Satsuki?" Gammagorri towered in the tiny doorway, but he looked in on Fukamachi more than others. Apparently coming back from the dead and rescuing her had lead to a great deal of forgiveness in the normally stubborn man.

"Not even a murmur in his sleep, but after months of wearing that armor, it is likely he has to recover." The technology of the Naked Sol was impressive, but it found nothing wrong with either Matoi or Fukamachi. They would recover on their own or not.

It was their job to—

Red alert klaxons screamed as the whole boat rocked from impact. High pitched laughter sent chills through Satsuki's veins. Nui!

* * *

Senketsu felt the attack as well. He also heard that damnable laughter, but there was nothing he could do without Ryuko or Satsuki to wear him! He could be worn by others, but they could not withstand his power.

"Ooooh. Sounds like trouble on the deck!" Mako had rarely left Ryuko or he alone since her recovery. Her entire family had snuck aboard as medics, but after confirming nothing really wrong with Ryuko and Sho, it was just a waiting game.

Only a few days since heading out and they were closer to Honnouji Academy, but it seemed someone had noticed.

 _There must be something I can do!_ The suit of clothes drooped visibly when the doorway flew open. Satsuki was heaving from running across the passage way to get here. With only a glance at Ryuko, the steely blue glare looked at him.

He knew she could fight, but the toll was high, yet they had no choice. Patting Ryuko on the arm gently, he allowed Satsuki to once again wear him.

"Keep Matoi safe!" The words were not as harsh as she could once make them, but Senketsu could not feel her the way he could Ryuko. Even Sho was clearer to him than this complicated woman now wearing him.

Mako stood up in her school uniform, someone had it kept neatly somewhere, and saluted. That stance made him smile, but he knew if Nui got here, Mako could do little to stop her.

* * *

Sho was floating in blackness. It was not awful or terrifying, it was actually quite warm and relaxing. He felt a pull, but he was not in a hurry. This feeling of relaxing was intoxicating at the moment.

 _FUKAMACHI!_ The voice crashed into his mind but he had not heard it so clearly in over a year. He almost could not picture Agito anymore, but he could feel him again.

 _Makishima, I can hear you._ The surprise at the other end was quickly followed by the sensation of pride.

 _At last. Segawa has been tinkering with trying to boost our communication, but it is tiring to bio-boost for so long. Archanfel has come after you, and I hope you can take advantage as we have. While he has been gone, Chronos has tried to move ahead, but it is almost like they are lost without him._

 _The Thunderbolts have succeeded in disrupting some disturbing facilities and we need you and the Gigantic back soon. We are near where you fought that strange Zoanoid before, but Balcus is here with a full contingent of hyper-Zoanoids like nothing we have seen before._

The full dump was a bit much to take in, but knowing Archanfel was already here helped Sho keep up. It was difficult to hear words as Agito was also sending images with them. It was amazing to see Tetsuo and Mitsuki. He missed them and ached to be back with them.

The pull came again, this time stronger. Another voice was crying out in the darkness.

 _We will fight Archanfel, but that Zoanoid is here, the crystal one from before. I may not be able to use the Gigantic safely around him. Ryuko and I will have to work with the Elite 4 and Satsuki to win I think._

Sho did not really think about what he was saying as the other voice was getting more insistent to him. He could almost recognize it.

 _Fukamachi, what is this you are talking about?!_ Sho grimaced in the dark and realized he had sent similar incomplete images as Agito had sent to him.

 _Nevermind, just know I am not alone here and I have allies to help that can fight Zoanoids. I have to go, something is wrong._

Sho felt the connection with Agito fade to a dim place, even though he thought he could hear him shout his name a few more times. Agito never like to be ignored, but something told Sho to go to the voice.

There was no real movement here, but he finally recognized who was calling him. It was Ryuko.

* * *

She was a monster, a creature of Life Fibers. She was the weapon meant to fight, not Senketsu. She wanted to lash out at the world, but every time those eyes appeared. His rain soaked clothes and hair framed the pale skin and dark eyes filled with a pain she understood only worse.

His father was killed, but he was the one forced to do it. The thing that took him from humanity had made him also kill his own father! Compared to that, she could not hold on to her anger.

The cycle had locked up her heart and mind and she had begun to fall deeper and deeper into her pain.

 _Ryuko?_ The voice was his but it was not inside her mind, but outside. She opened her eyes to a vast blackness, but it was not empty. He stood there. It was not the same as when you see someone you recognize, because she saw all of him.

He was Sho, but he was also the Guyver. Both as one had come to find her and he shone like a beacon in the dark. How had he gotten into her dream?

 _Not sure actually. I was talking to Guyver III and I could hear you. I can feel something wrong and we are needed. Will you come with me?_ Ryuko looked up and saw something new in his eyes. The Guyver helm could not hide it. He simply looked at her as he always had. He was here for his friend and wanted to fight beside her.

Something broke in her heart, a dark writhing mass suddenly vanished and Ryuko felt light as a feather. Senketsu needed her, Mako needed her, all the people she loved needed her and did not think any differently about her. Even her sister needed her, strange as that felt.

Light bathed them both and the darkness gave way to screaming alarms and a room that seemed to be swaying.

* * *

Blood flowed freely from several wounds on the Elite 4 bodies. Nui could have killed them a few times, but she was having fun. She was also clearly looking for Matoi, but Satsuki knew that she and Senketsu were too deadly to ignore completely.

Even so, she was running out of time. Unlike Junketsu, which Nui had brought with her, Senketsu did not scare her, but he did drain her stamina just as badly.

"Tee hee! You are not being as fun as Ryuko! Where are you keeping her, I don't want to drown her accidentally!" The high strung blonde was clearly enjoying all of this as the deck had trails of smoke rising from the wreckage of the Nudists attacks. Without Life Fibers, normal humans could barely stand up to her.

The Scissor blade she wielded was also truly horrifying.

"GUYVER!" The bright glare of light followed by the landing of the Guyver on the deck brought hope to all and a frown to Nui.

"I am your dance partner this time." The deck bent under the force as he leapt towards her with blades extended. Nui seemed to easily dodge him, but then a gravity blast sent her flying. Satsuki was impressed at the tactic as it sent the pink and blonde target flying across the deck and then the red scissor pierced her in mid-air!

All turned to see the once again blanket clad Matoi staring with much clearer blue eyes as her strike put Nui into the tower of the Naked Sol. Blood poured, but as Satsuki has suspected, Nui did not seem overly bothered.

"That did not seem very smart to give me the other half of the scissor, but I have a new outfit for you Ryuko!" The blade was extracted from out of her back and the wound healed quickly as the smiling Nui practically drooled at Matoi.

Junketsu was flung out and seemed to fly across the deck to Matoi, but Satsuki had already disengaged Senketsu. She felt sweat break out, but then the Guyver seemed to materialize out of no where and shredded Junketsu.

"NOOOOOO!" Nui clearly had not expected the blades of the Guyver to destroy a Kamui. Satsuki had suspected but there had never been a chance to confirm. Her body was shaking from exhaustion as Matoi and Senketsu once again engaged Life Fiber Synchronization.

* * *

Sho watched in amusement as Nui and Ryuko fought, clear in the victory to come. Ryuko blocked and then recovered both Scissors, at long last back in her hands. His senses were aware of the danger first. Satsuki and the Elites were exhausted as Covers emerged everywhere!

He fired the head beam as he carefully kept them focused on him. There were no signs of Zoanoids, but knowing Nui, she likely had not told anyone she was coming here.

"Get the Extractors Gammagorri." He saw the Nudists equipping what seemed like more of the ridiculous half robot machines that left them hanging there rears out. Normally it would be distracting but he bought them time as the humans quickly recovered many humans from the Covers as Nui escaped on helicopter.

Sho had no time to chase or fire as he and Ryuko where battling Covers until all of the humans could be removed. He watched as Inumuta oversaw the collection of the Life Fibers for Inori.

He smiled wide as Ryuko was nearly buried in hugs from the Mankanshokus and Mikisugi, although the latter had a fist put up to stop him. He hoped the anger would not rekindle in his friend, but he would be here if nee—

Pain lanced through him as a crystal blade emerged through his right chest. Blood spurted out of his vents and he heard screaming.

"I am disappointed in you Sho Fukamachi. You allowed your guard to drop and I was easily able to strike you down. Lord Archanfel will be pleased and no doubt take the humans here for testing in due time. His orders concerning your Control Metal stand, this is the end." Void had pinned him down and was wielding another blade down to take his Control Metal when 2 red blades sliced him in two.

Surprise blossomed as both turned to see that Ryuko had changed the shape of the blades and they had easily destroyed the Zoanoid at distance. The unexpected attack saved his life as Void almost seemed to smile when his self destruct built into him dissolved his body.

The blade was still inside him but he removed it before anyone got close. Blackness closed in, but he knew the Guyver could heal him. He barely hit the deck before the thought came to him.

If Void had been watching for the moment to strike during Nui's attack, where was Archanfel?

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Dr Balcus stared at the monitors. They had been specially created to monitor and if needed, destroy Void. As any Lost Number, the mental control was variable. Thus he had taken precautions this time.

All the monitors had just died. It was not Lord Archanfel. If that had happened, there would have been a spike in several energy wavelengths. If it had been the Guyver, the same would be true. Instead, he saw nothing. A pure physical attack had destroyed the resilient skin of his creation in one shot.

For the first time in his long life, Dr Balcus truly wondered if Lord Archanfel had gone to a place where he would die and not come back. The battle with Guyot had rattled him, but Archanfel had proven beyond even a black hole's reach.

He stroked his long beard as his many centuries suddenly weighed on him. It was in that moment that the countryside suddenly lit up with the dreaded light of a megasmasher.

Guyver III had come.


	21. Chapter 21 - Being Human

_The battles have become more brutal but now both Ryuko and Satsuki are on the same side of it. Ragyo and Archanfel still hold an alliance and the Guyver is the only true thing the Lord of Chronos cares about. His lost Zoanoids and now the defeat of child Nui has left him enraged, but now he is calmed._

 _The final battle is coming and he knows the Guyver I of old after all the research Balcus and Guyot did on him. With that in mind, the final trap for the Guyver is ready at last and now he awaits the battle to finally reclaim what was stolen from him by the Creators so long ago._

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

The small building was never meant to last long, but the truth of the Rift and the complications of recovering Guyver I lead to modifications. The Hyper-Zoanoids sent through were the first of many, but their optimizations took time.

Guyver III had waited until the last batch went through and more regular soldiers of Chronos remained. Dr Balcus watched as the damnable Thunderbolts made quick work of them. He stroked his beard calmly as the foot soldiers of little worth were disposed of.

His lack of concern was due to the feeling of more elite forces quickly descending. Guyver III could not take him in battle and humans had long since been minor bugs to him over the centuries. This attack was ill conceiv—

A massive headache slammed into the Zoalord. The inside of his skull felt like it was being pierced with hot irons and nothing he did could seem to stop it. The effect on the Zoanoids in all directions was more disturbing. They simply stopped or feel where they were!

The headache increased as he tried to assert control and then he understood. He withdrew completely into himself and the pain lessened considerably. It was still in the background, but he could function once again.

He violently shoved the drooling soldier aside from the monitor controls and flicked through them until he found his target. It was the blasted fat human friend of Guyver I! There was a device with a dish pointed his way and that little chit of a sister was monitoring the power.

They were defying him! They had found a way to counteract his telepathic commands!

The blood drained and made the red Zoacrystal stand out in his balding head. The Hyper-Zoanoids that had been on their way would still come, but once inside the field, many of them would side with the Thunderbolts!

"Damn you Makishima!" The rage caused spittle to fly from his mouth as the Zoalord understood he would have to remind these fools what power really was.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

"Iori is working as fast as he can with the Life Fibers we recovered. Inumuta is currently hacking back into the system to see if we have any more surprises coming. It is going better than I hoped to be honest." He could hear a voice. A name would not come, but it was not the voice he wished to hear most.

How long since he had heard her? How long since he had truly been Sho Fukamachi? How long since he could be held by her and feel human even though he was a monster?

A name came to him, Ryuko. She understood now, understood what it was like to be him. You look human, but all the time you are something else, all the time you are different. One mistake, one accident, and you could do terrible harm. There was never a time you could forget that.

He had reminded her she was human too, but others helped, just like he had others remind him. It was Mitsuki that gave him both. She was the one that had made him whole, both Guyver and human. She always felt like she did nothing, but when things were broken inside him, she was the one that opened the door.

Since then, things had been so strange and different. She had burdened herself with the secret of Murakami, and endured the horrible time he was gone making the Gigantic. He did not know where the strength for that comes from, but it helped him in his desperate battles with Chronos.

"He is healed but still unconscious, should we try to make him?" A male voice he know well and it made him smile. Dr Mankanshoku did not know the dangers of the Guyver, but Sho opened his eyes. He could see them now, all to his left as he lay in a bunk once again.

The swaying told him they were still on the ship from before, but the Guyver had not been disengaged, whereas Ryuko and Satsuki both stood in more normal modes, the former with Senketsu looking down at him as well.

 _Ryuko, I feel he is awake now._ The relief in the kamui was heartwarming.

* * *

"If you all don't mind I can get up on my own." Sho felt no tightness in his chest so the Guyver had finished healing him and woken him up. The armor disengaged to reveal a gash in his shirt where the blade had pierce him.

"That was too close to your heart!" the Mankanshokus were outside the doorway but the laughter of Satsuki and his smile left all confused.

"You forget, he was _beheaded_ and came back to us." Satsuki had not asked about that, not that there had been time really but all stared at him now and he realized he owed them the rest.

"The Guyver, the part you see right above my forehead, is called the Control Metal. So long as that is intact, and given enough time, it can regenerate itself and its host. I have had that done at least twice before with only the Control Metal remaining and now a beheading as well. Essentially, so long as the Control Metal lasts, I cannot die." The looks varied around the room. Mako and her family were teary eyed, Satsuki seemed both intrigued and remorseful, and finally Ryuko just looked at him with eyes he expect he was looking at her with.

They understood each other completely in that moment. Some may have tried to call them friends, and before they certainly were, but now they were something else. No one else could understand this, not even Agito. For all he was a Guyver, he seemed to have lost something of his humanity a long time ago. Mitsuki, for all she helped Sho and he still loved her, in this moment, Ryuko Matoi and Sho Fukamachi were of one heart.

 _Sho Fukamachi, I am gladdened you are harder to kill as I would have missed you greatly, but you speak too calmly of this. It is a hard thing to be what you are and I know Ryuko greatly likes you far more at this moment. Please stay with us in the days ahead, she will need you, as may we all._ The feeling of empathy and embrace from Senketsu nearly undid the controls Sho had on his heart. There was more to tell them however.

"You should all be aware, that if I take lethal, and difficult to repair, damage, the Guyver has a failsafe." They all looked at him confused but he pointed to the hole in his shirt. "Swords, guns, and even loss of limb will not stop me for long or really bother the Guyver, but brain damage or full regeneration are different. The Guyver will enter a self defense mode and it will not distinguish between friend or foe. It will only know I am under attack and use full power on anything that threatens me."

Understanding flooded Satsuki and Ryuko's eyes. They both knew what had happened to his father.

"If that happens against Archanfel, he is clever enough to trick you into coming near me as a distraction. Do not do it. Trust the Guyver, trust me, to pull through as best I can." He knew he was lying but did not care. Archanfel was a power beyond anything he had faced. If the Zoalord was truly here, then nothing he knew of, not even the Gigantic, could fully stop him. At least they had never truly tested it against a Zoalord yet.

* * *

The Naked Sol was celebrating with dinner the successful battle against Nui, the Zoanoids, and the return of Ryuko to being awake. When people wondered where the croquettes came from, both Sho and Ryuko advised not to ask and enjoy the cooking.

The night breeze felt good to Ryuko as she sat at the railing and watched the water flow beneath the ship. She had been a stubborn ass, and if not for Sho, may have been reckless to boot. His eyes haunted her from that one moment when he told them the dark secret of the Guyer and its Control Metal. She felt certain she had the same look on her face as his and they were one.

It was strange to feel so close to someone, so odd. Senketsu was different because in a way, she and the kamui were one when they synchronized. He felt very close to her but humans always muck her up. Mako could make her smile wide for damn sure and her family had practically adopted her.

Sho had changed for her. Before he was just a boy who was on her side and Mako's too. Later he was a valuable ally in battle and even a good person to vent too. Now…she did not know what to think of him. He had mentioned a girl several times from his old world, but could he even get back?

She winced at that silly thought. If his enemy could come through, so could he. It also meant she had very inconvenient feelings for him.

 _Would that be so bad Ryuko?_ Senketsu was looking up at her in what felt like both amusement and curiosity. If she could slap the infernal sailor suit, she would have.

"He wants to go home and honestly it might just be the fact that he understands that draws me. How could I expect a future with that?" She firmly dug in to her dinner plate as the stars and their twins in the water went by. Her thoughts floated in the night to what could be, but could not be.

"You need someone to remind you about humanity Ryuko." She nearly jumped as Sho's voice. How long had he been there?! Long enough clearly. He stood with a new shirt to replace the torn one and a white jacket from somewhere on this ship of Nudists.

"I saw how you looked at me, how you felt connected and even now it is like I can see _you_." Ryuko felt her face flush a deep scarlet, but Sho did not so much as glance away. He just smiled that small smile of his and his dark eyes seemed to accept the reaction he had.

"You were the one that reminded me Sho." She knew she was pouting but for some reason her normal confidence would not come. She felt her uniform shaking but then realized Senketsu was giggling!

"I may have shocked you out of that rage of denial, but you have plenty here that reminded you Ryuko. Mako I think is the strongest at that. She helped me a lot when I was so lost back at my arrival. She did not know that of course, but she made it real for me that I was somewhere else." Sho was leaning on the top bar looking out at the horizon as he spoke.

The wistful smile on his face brought one of her own. She could totally believe Mako doing that. Mako was why she had lost a lot of her anger, learning to live with a family, and just be happy again were lessons Mako had given her.

"Mitsuki always seemed like a dream to me, but that was a naive dream I had. The reality of my life and the horror of it nearly broke her. I can't say it did wonders for anyone, but somewhere we both changed and found a bond far different from what I imagined." The shadows in his eyes were terrifying. He had told her things that were insane, but even compared to what she had seen, it was hard to imagine it.

A normal high school life destroyed by monsters, his own father killed by his own hands, and the woman he loved having the world torn down around her. Ryuko was facing a monster of her own, but the world would resist it if known. Sho faced a world where the monsters won and not many knew the true danger lurking behind the benevolent face of Chronos.

"We are monsters you and I, but we are human too." Sho spoke so softly she barely heard him but then she felt wetness hit her cheek. She looked up to see tears falling from his face. Understanding did not flood into Ryuko, she knew what he was feeling right then. The horror of their existence was heavy and right now he dearly missed the world he belonged to. The world that knew he was a monster, but a human under it all.

Without really thinking about her actions, Ryuko stood up and hugged Sho from behind. He stiffened but did not stop her. Instead he stood upright and turned. The hollow look in his eyes frightened her, but it faded after holding him for a time as tears silently fell.

How long had he been pushing himself? How long had he just endured the pain of being the Guyver with no one to turn to? The people that had bled and fought with him were far away and no one truly understood what he was here. Now, however, Ryuko knew. She knew because they were the same.

As he had saved her, now she saved him. They were heading toward the author of all his nightmares and he just wanted to be human. She could understand that feeling very well now after seeing Ragyo shake off beheading and other injuries.

The only way to face unstoppable monsters was with unstoppable monsters. Her grip tightened at the unfairness of it and she felt a brush from the scarf of Senketsu. He was here too, embracing them both. For all that this could have become something else, she was content as she knew Sho was calming down now too.

Of course that is when the alert went off.

"Attention, Lady Satsuki, Matoi, and Fukamachi, please get to the bridge!" The voice of Inumuta was calm but laced with tension. Ryuko turned from looking at the speaker to find Sho's face VERY close. For just a moment a wild idea took her, but it passed when he blushed and almost comically backed up.

"S-s-sorry!" The contrite pose on the deck combined with his clear embarrassment was hilarious.

"Don't worry about it, we have a job to do!" She smiled wide as she stood and held out her red gloved hand to him. He responded in kind and smiled as he took her hand. It was time to do what they were for, to fight the impossible by becoming the impossible.


	22. Chapter 22 - Battle of the Monsters

_The battlefields are moving on both Earths. Guyver III has begun an assault to not only reclaim the connection to Guyver I, but to prove the improved interference device that would well break the control of Chronos. Ryuko and Sho have been called as the Naked Sol closes in on Honnouji Academy._

 _Neither side knows the others moves, but both are bringing it to a head._

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

He was smiling. His body was battered and he was fairly certain one of the Hyper-Zoanoids broke his left arm, but Agito was smiling. Every time it seemed like reinforcements arrived for Chronos, they slowed and became confused. It was the terrifying truth he had learned in his time as one of the Elite at Chronos Japan.

The majority of Zoanoid soldiers were volunteers that had been turned against their will and brainwashed by the Zoalords. Aptom had been instrumental in the truth of this as a practical example. He no longer heard the telepathic sway of the Zoalords and his goals took precedence over the goals of Chronos.

His triple blades hummed as another Zoanoid died in a spurt of blood and guts. Segawa was against this, but even he conceded they could take no chances with Balcus so close. That was the true test of the machine and Agito had all the orbs on his head keeping an eye out for the Zoalord.

Even so, the smile never left his face. He was finally getting a victory over the monsters that had driven his parents to suicide. They had thought to keep him as a tool forever but he had risen beyond that. It was not as he had hoped, the revelations after donning the Guyver had rattled him.

The existence of Zoalords had explained the rigid control of the conspiracy behind Chronos' control of the world. The truth of the Creators and Archanfel had left him feeling helpless. Fukamachi had then done something completely unexpected and increased the power of the Guyver to stand up to those monsters.

He needed that power back, but of them all, Dr Balcus would suffer from Segawa's invention. This opportunity would never come again. Archanfel was off alone and Balcus was now defenseless. The smile crew wider as the ancient balding head poked out, clearly in pain, but the anger was there.

The Guyver had already healed his arm and he had yet to use the full power of his megasmasher. Guyver III had come for his revenge at long last.

* * *

 **Kill la Kill Earth**

Ryuko felt the chill in her veins as Inumuta showed Ragyo riding the Original Life Fiber towards Honnouji Academy. Satsuki had outlined the ultimate goal of the Star Cocoon where the Life Fibers would envelope the earth and then cause it to explode to scatter more Life Fibers across the cosmos.

Her 'mother,' and that thought left a vile taste in her mouth, was a pure monster. She was intent on destroying the world for the sake of this damned cloth! The fact that Nui had been rescued even in her literally disarmed state was not good either. What did they still need Nui for? Ragyo had not ever seemed the sentimental type, not even for her 3rd daughter.

Satsuki seemed to have only steel in her eyes again, but it was tempered with a humanity that had never been present in any of their fights. It was creepy to feel like she was her sister, but it was too new.

Sho stood resolute now, quiet. He was looking at another screen Inumuta had set up. His eyes were unreadable to her at the moment. They had been almost the same mind a moment ago but now he was alien to her.

 _He is angry Ryuko. I can feel it now, so close as we are. He is angry and there is a wail of fear buried deep beneath it._ Ryuko felt surprise as Senketsu's description. He had never told her anyone's emotions or state than her own. He was now reading Sho as if he was wearing the kamui.

"I need to go to Honnouji Academy." Sho spoke without looking up from the monitor. He never seemed to breathe but all turned to him and Ryuko saw a fire never in his eyes before. He was raging like she had never seen.

Satsuki was the first to move and she simply moved him easily away from the monitor and the widening of her eyes was the only warning before she slapped him. The shock of the bridge was dead silent. Ryuko could have sworn a pin would have deafened them if it dropped.

"You would walk into that monster den with no plan and rage in your heart Fukamachi?" Satsuki was still wearing only the clothes from her long trek with the Guyver and the rest of the humans to Osaka. They were torn and muddied, but at that moment, they could have been armor for how well Satsuki stood in them. She was shining again annoyingly so.

"THEY ARE MY FAMILY!" The words burned the air and Ryuko felt very confused. She moved finally and saw the monitor.

It was of Honnouji Academy's open yard where a massive machine that looked like a large rocket was assembled with Covers everywhere. In the middle of that stood an unassuming blonde man in a tailored suit. He seemed to be filing his nails as he lounged with two nightmares to either side of him. They were dark blue and horned with massive muscles and yellowed eyes.

Between the 2 guards were 3 humans. Two of them were clearly related, one fairly large boy at least a year or 2 older than her, but the slim girl had to be the same age. The man was also over weight a bit but was far older. The thing that made her grip the edges of the monitor so strongly it was bending under her strength, was the broken corpse at their feet.

It was Sho! It was the same hair, same age, and same everything. He had been broken in every limb and then cut in every way she knew that would not kill him out right. It was horrible!

The monitor suddenly fizzled as the plinth was crushed by her bare hands. She was not in synchronization mode, it was just her own strength. That fucking monster!

The pin flew from her red glove and she felt Senketsu fully engage. It was like when she fought Nui! He was as angry as her. The world became only red and then she was in the sky!

* * *

Sho stared in shock at the hole in the bridge as Ryuko and Senketsu burned across the sky.

"Damn it Matoi, not you either, but it might be better if you both have the same goal." Satsuki turned to Iori and he nodded with his white coat now turned black in 3 Star mode.

"Fukamachi, I need help stopping Ragyo and we need to get to Matoi quickly. Can you help me?" The bridge froze again. Even Sho was shocked out of his rage. Satsuki never asked for help. "Help me keep my sister safe!" The final plea broke him. Archanfel had tried to goad him, as Balcus had tricked him so long ago.

His broken body in front of the people he cared most about had driven him to a frenzy. The nonchalance of Archanfel also infuriated him, but now they had to hurry.

"I will meet you on the deck, and this ship needs to get ready." Sho knew how Archanfel planned after all this time, Chronos would attack here while he should be on his way to fight.

She nodded and suddenly she was undressing!

The sight of the remade Junketsu made sense, but even with all the Nudists, Sho still found it very hard not to blush. He made his way to the deck and saw the speck on the horizon that was the floating monstrosity that was the Original Life Fiber. He knew he could not rush to the Gigantic here, but it may be the power they needed to defeat Ragyo.

"I am ready to go Fukamachi." The wind was blowing her hair next to him on deck and for a moment he wanted to say it would all be ok. Images of waking up to Enzyme II, his father, disintegrating and so many other innocents dead, flashed through his mind and it would not come out.

He instead focused on the power, on the goal of destroying one monster at a time. Fear trickled at the back of his mind for Ryuko, but if both Senketsu and she were in a towering rage, it might work out.

"GUYVER!" He felt the world fall away in a ball of light and then was quickly in the air. He saw the more vivid detail of the Original Life Fiber and smaller dots getting larger. They were missiles!

He saw Satsuki could now fly as well out of his side orb, a blush hit his face as he had not thought to ask. He pointed and she nodded. They had work to do.

* * *

Archanfel was bored. He was bored quite often, but right now he felt anti-climatic. The human of this world, Sho Fukamachi, was nothing like the reports of the Guyver I. He admitted he did not expect it to be so, but even with his family threatened, he had just frozen and started crying. A massive disappointment.

He also did not know the siblings, the Segawas, as in this world they had moved away a long time ago. Each world was different.

The father, Fumio, had at least put up a fight, such as he could. Now they hung out cold after fear, stress, and horror had wiped them out. The disappointment of this version of Sho Fukamachi had made him push harder to see the mettle the one he knew possessed. Clearly his time as Guyver I had forged him into something else.

There was barely a warning as the Covers and his 2 Hyper-Zoanoids were seemingly vaporized in an instant. The ground shattered from the impact as the 3 humans were whisked away. The book in his hands was shredded as well and his clothes seemed to pick up a few tears, but the Zoalord was more confused than concerned. This was not the attack of a Guyver.

It was one of those infernal women with a clothing choice that left almost nothing to the imagination. This was one of his allies but it seemed like the dark hair and blue eyes with black clothing sounded familiar. A name was bouncing at the back of his mind as he registered the attack.

The Zoalord easily caught the red blade of the scissors in-between his index and thumb on each hand. They quivered with considerable strength as he looked at the girl. She was clearly incensed, but not attacking randomly. She had struck with great precision to wipe out his last 2 Hyper-Zoanoids and the Covers in this area.

Her rescue of the humans was also done with clear intent, but the face was contorted in endless anger. Raising one eye-brow, he summoned a ball of energy to strike her down and was stunned when she easily evaded it by releasing her weapon.

The clothes contorted and blades extended from all the seams and then spun like a saw. Intrigued, Archanfel allowed her to strike his shield. Unsurprisingly the blades shattered, but he felt considerable force from it. She was not wasting energy, but clearly she was outmatched.

"I think you are the one allied with the Guyver, clearly you found my invitation to Fukamachi a bit disturbing, but really this is not your fight." This was boring. The 2 allies of his had not been able to stop him, what did this girl think she could do?

Ragyo was off getting something for this rocket, while that extremely annoying Nui had somehow gotten her arms chopped off. He was intensely curious how that had happened, but looking at the scissor blades he began to have an idea.

He went to grab the scissor blades and was stunned to feel how heavy they were. He could wield them with his strength, but not with any precision. The girl continued to circle him and her anger was always there. She appeared to be mumbling as well. Nothing complimentary to him, he was sure.

The boredom was now turning to annoyance. He flung the blades away and felt some surprise as 2 threads shimmered to pull them back. She had not abandoned the weapons and the distraction was enough for her to get up to his shield.

He felt no danger from her now but was shocked when the arm changed into a blade. It pierced his shield! That should not be possible! The shock caused the most powerful Zoalord to be too slow to avoid the right hook. The pain was unbelievable as the full power slammed into him.

Anyone else would have been killed outright, but only a trickle of blood trailed down his chin and his feet dragged back a few feet. The heaving woman was still angry, but she was not pleased with what happened.

"What is your name woman?" She had succeeded where very few had, he would at least do her the honor of remembering her name.

"Ryuko Matoi and Kamui Senketsu you damned monster!" The first name rang a bell, but the second made no sense. Too late did he think about the once again abandoned scissor blades until they successfully pierced him from behind! Blood flowed but this kind of wound would barely slow him down.

The real question was how she had done that without moving. Archanfel noticed the eye on the outfit at last. Understanding dawned, Life Fibers were living things, but simplistic. Only when they became complex did they become alive like Ragyo and Nui. He had underestimated his opponents and boredom faded to a bit of joy.

Maybe there was someone worth fighting after all.

Golden light enveloped him as he took her more seriously. This would be a fight worth having.

* * *

Satsuki felt a worry she did not like at all but buried it in facing her mother. Ragyo was insanely strong but the Guyver was keeping her off kilter. The weapons at his disposal were a danger to the Original Life Fiber as much as to her. Satsuki barely qualified as a distraction, but she was getting the rhythm of Fukamachi's style.

He was fearless but did not leave openings. He was looking for a final strike but needed a way to it. The Naked Sol was doing better as Iori put out more Goku uniforms in priority of strength. Already Mako had repelled most attacks with her insane strength. For a 2 Star uniform, it enhanced her far beyond any others that had worn them.

The Elite 4 would be there soon, but they had no time to wait.

The glowing ball of light that was the Original Life Fiber shuddered under the assault of the Guyver's gravity blasts, but it hardly put a dent in it.

Ragyo was getting arrogant, but she kept her focus on the Guyver. It was in that moment that Fukamachi sliced into the Original Life Fiber and burned with his head beam, that Satsuki struck hard at her mother. Ragyo had anticipated it, but was still out of position to block with her own white blades she had extracted from the Original Life Fiber.

The clash of blades was furious between them and Satsuki barely knew if the slashes getting through were lethal or not. Suddenly her blades were sent flying as Ragyo seemed to find a way to drive her daughter to death.

Light flared as the whole Original Life Fiber shuddered. Ragyo stopped her attack to stare upward at the Guyver with one of his chest plates open. He had been finally able to use his Megasmasher to strike a devastating blow. In that moment the Elite 4 stepped in and brought the battle to Ragyo as they returned the now 2 bladed Bakugan to Satsuki.

"You distracted me from the real attack you brat!" Angered, but not afraid, Ragyo did not see the danger until too late. The Naked Sol suddenly launched from the water as the Great Naked Dagger. The Guyver launched a massive gravity blast ahead of it and the ship sliced the core of the Original Life Fiber straight through.

"It would seem you underestimated us Ragyo." It was gratifying to see her mother in shock and horror. The Original Life Fiber guttered out and fell out of the sky. The ship was still sailing and Satsuki realized the Guyver was on it. She smiled at its target.

* * *

Ryuko felt pain slowly fade from her left arm that Archanfel had broken. His speed was unreal and his energy attacks left her with no time to think. Her healing factor was the only reason she was alive, but she was getting dangerously low on blood.

 _Nothing we do really hurts him Ryuko. We may not be able to win._ Ryuko hated to agree, but the clear difference in power was frightening to perceive. Sho had told her this Zoalord was like no other. The slim chance he had told about with others sounded too crazy to really compare, but this was like fighting a master in all areas. It did not matter what you knew, he knew it all.

The few cuts and scrapes she had inflicted on him were nothing to the 2 scissor cuts, but he did not seem bothered by it at all. It was as if the injuries were minor things beneath his consideration.

She saw something out of the corner of her eye and acted on instinct. She smiled wide and put her all into speed. The surprise on his face was complete but he seemed to ready another energy blast.

She smiled wider and he cocked his head right when the massive metal hull of the Naked Sol slammed into the wall he was in front of. The Zoalord had no time to react, but erected a shield anyway. Too late he remembered his shield was vulnerable.

She saw him whorl around to find she had pierced it again. The metal hull came down on them both, but the curve allowed her to clear it.

Bloody and exhausted, she was using the scissors to stay upright as the smoke cleared.

Whatever hope she had was dashed as golden energy flared. He was cut and one of his arms was blessedly broken, but otherwise he seemed unharmed.

"I grant you recognition Ryuko Matoi and Kamui Senketsu. You have done what no other has done in a very long time since I was chosen by the Creators. Our game ends however." He raised his working left arm and Ryuko became aware of the energy orbs around her. She had no where to run and squeezed her eyes shut as they zoomed in.

The world shook and she expected just blackness to close in, even if she regenerated, she could be killed if vaporized. Instead the world seemed to be humming. She slowly opened her eyes and found the ground intact around her.

It was just gone outside of a distortion that seemed to surround her and tears found her eyes as she slowly turned to see the miracle. Guyver Gigantic was right behind her generating the shield. It blew air out of its vents as it looked down at her and gently patted her head.

Archanfel looked in shock to see his attack fail and for the first time since she started fighting him, fear.

"Round 2" The shield snapped off as the Guyver Gigantic exploded forward.


	23. Chapter 23 - Absolute Monsters

Ragyo felt boiling rage and frustration rival inside her. The pathetic monkeys of Nudist Beach and the infernal Guyver had derailed her plans. Her beautiful plans had been crafted for decades since she found and awoke the Original Life Fiber.

She saw the yard torn up from Ryuko's battle with Archanfel and at least drew grim satisfaction from the fact that fool child would not find victory there. She smiled even wider as energy orbs surrounded the pathetic failure of a daughter and waited to see her end.

"GIGANTIC!" The flash of bright light followed by the large shape of the most hated boy alive enter the smoke and she knew what would happen as the world settled from the devastating attack of Archanfel. The shield seemed to easily repel the attack and Ryuko and the Gigantic Guyver stood unharmed.

 _I hate them all. I want the world to be enveloped in my beautiful Life Fibers._ The woman stood in mute fury. The elegant gown she wore was clinging to her body and was to be her celebration dress.

"Lady Ragyo, the kamui is ready." The words splashed a chill on the fire of anger. A smile spread on her face and her radiant hair seemed to glow more brightly. Nui kneeled behind her with Hoomaru standing in her always neat suit proudly awaiting orders.

Joy filled her as the ground suddenly exploded dirt high into the air. No doubt the boy was fighting that monster from his world but she did not care. Soon nothing would matter anymore.

"My daughters have been very mean to you Nui. These are no replacements for what was lost, but they will help in the final battle to come." Ragyo wove new arms for Nui to use, a svelte glove design that complemented her normal pink hues with a dark blue and bright multi-hued highlights.

Ragyo let her own dress fall and smiled wide as the world rocked from another impact.

* * *

Mikisugi watched in horror at the true power of Sho and this master of monsters. They had merely exchanged fists and it had caused as much damage as Ryuko and Satsuki going all out. It was clear that Sho had a small advantage only with the broken left arm of this blonde youth.

He had seen the power of the monsters that had come to the arena months ago, but they were pale shadow to this man. He was standing up to the insane power of the Gigantic as if it was an equal. The massive size of the golden suit to the rather short stature of this new enemy should have made it clear who the winner would be.

The ground suddenly blinded with golden light and he had to look away to get his sight back. When he glanced back, he almost had to swipe his eyes again and wonder if perhaps he was getting delusional. His DTR was ready to use, but he did not know how much use in this battle he would be.

The man was gone and replaced by a giant golden being with crystals in his chest and head with an almost angelic wing design coming off his shoulders and a winged head. Golden energy seemed to burn the air around him and Mikisugi realized that being a Nudist in this battle would be extremely unwise.

"Leave that thing for Fukamachi, we need to find Ragyo and stop whatever she is doing. Let us take back our Academy!" The Lady Satsuki was in full form as she directed the newly empowered students with their Goku uniforms to battle. Junketsu did not seem to strain her nearly as much as it used to.

He smiled at her resolve and the Nudist forces would not let the students fight alone. The DTRs that were still working charged after the students of Honnouji Academy to find their own monster of monsters, Ragyo Kiryuin.

* * *

Even exhausted, Ryuko was able to keep up with the simple fist fight between Archanfel and Sho. The blows were simple, but the Zoalord had fended it all off with his good right arm and shields at the right time. The initial trace of fear was gone, but the creature did not seem able to do more than defend.

That all changed when energy seemed to explode from him and the Gigantic fell back by her. The orbs were moving all the time until the dust settled and revealed something entirely different to other Zoanoids.

Golden light made a halo around the extremely tall humanoid creature that had jewels in his chest and one large one in the center of the winged head. The pressure was insane and she realized that he had been toying with her as an amusement or had simply underestimated her.

"This brings back bad memories." The words took a moment to click and Ryuko remembered, one of the times Sho had 'died' was at the hands of this being.

 ** _Well Guyver I, are we to stare at each other or will you continue your foolish rebellion?_** The words burned in her mind, but Sho remained back, tensed to launch. The orbs were moving again.

 _Why is he waiting, he was fighting on equal terms wasn't he?_ Ryuko knew the Gigantic was insanely powerful but Sho seemed to not think so.

 _Ryuko, I can feel it. This being is ready for an attack, but it may not be a retaliation against Sho, but us._ She felt it then. Senketsu had broken out in goose bumps again. She also felt that Archanfel was looking at her as much as at Gigantic.

 _In other words, Sho knew that and is trying to find any signs of traps or attack before going in._ Ryuko hated being a hamstring to her friend.

The central tower suddenly split and the world seemed to freeze for her. The Gigantic never moved but Archanfel looked with dull interest, unconcerned about an attack.

"Attention foolish students of Honnouji Academy. The most chic design of Revocs is now ready. The Lady Ragyo in Kamui Shinra-Koketsu!" Ragyo emerged in a massive kamui. It almost looked like a wedding dress with voluminous white sleeves and a hood that had the radiant multi-hued colors surrounding the woman's face.

Dread filled Ryuko to see her smiling brightly at them all and she also saw that Satsuki had gotten inside the school to try and face Ragyo while they fought here.

 _Ryuko, something feels wrong. That kamui is dangerous!_ Senketsu was worried, and she had more than learned to trust his instincts.

 ** _Another strange outfit. This is a very strange world._** The bored tone still burned her mind to hear it. Archanfel seemed truly bored with the woes of this world.

"You pathetic fools have interfered enough, you will now learn the true power and fear of Life Fibers!" White tendrils ensnared Hoomaru after Ragyo's words and then the kamui seemed to flash a bright light across the whole academy.

Ryuko felt shock when she could see again, the Goku uniforms and Junketsu had reverted to dormant states.

 _Ryuko! I can't move!_ It was only then that she realized she was in her sailor uniform again also! It was as if Senketsu had become frozen and she could not get him to move correctly. She seemed able to move him after a fashion, but only barely.

 ** _Interesting. She has sent out an override command much like my own commands. I underestimated her plans it would seem. It may be amusing to see the end of this fight._** Rage ignited as she looked at the smiling face of the monster. He was amused by all of this! He found it entertaining to watch this life or death struggle.

The world became a whirlwind and it took a moment to remember the Gigantic had not moved, not even budged. Sho had been waiting to find an opening, and he had not wasted it.

Archanfel could not erect a shield in time, nor did it seem like it was as effective against physical attacks. The Gigantic easily smashed aside the partial field and gained a direct hit on the chest. It did not seem to even budge the Zoalord.

 ** _I applaud, truly, the patience you showed to catch me off guard. You have learned how to fight and I was not prepared to attack the girl or you. Your attack however successful, was rather pathetic Guyver I._** The words seemed tinged with relief, but then the Zoalord's eyes bulged in surprise.

Blood spurted from the chest and the blades extended from the Gigantic flew quickly for the reeling Zoalord. What had just happened?

* * *

The energy that coalesced was violet this time, right above the Gigantic! Almost in anticipation, the shield snapped on and the attack glanced off, while the Zoalord was now trapped with the Guyver!

"I knew you would expect a lot of attacks Archanfel, but you always turn back attacks. The opening I needed was when you thought I had failed, not just catching you distracted." Sho was guarded, but the vibration of his shields and blades kept the air tinged with a whining sound.

He had only hoped the theory Makishima and he had thought of would work. This Zoalord was powerful, but like all of the Creators' works, he was still mortal. The problem was the bar for his mortality seemed quite high.

He was odd though. Aside from Relics Point and X Day, he was hardly ever seen. For all his seemingly invincible power, Archanfel seemed to have severe limits to it. The fact that Ryuko had been able to injure him proved that. He would not have allowed a human, even an enhanced human, injure him like that.

He had the speed and power to avoid her attacks. The Gigantic had run a comparison of Archanfel from Relics Point to the current encounter. He was strong as ever, but there was serious variances. It was as if he could not sustain his power for long periods of time.

He had felt for the weakest moment, which was indeed when the Zoalord was distracted, and went for the hit. As soon as he felt the power flare, he had gone full strength and smashed it aside. It was simple then to hold a gravity wave attack and wait.

All of it had gone better than he hoped, because the chest injury and the broken arm were not healing. They should be, but clearly Archanfel was reaching some kind of limit. Now that he was trapped inside with the Gigantic, it was just the 2 of them. He saw Senketsu behind him and briefly blushed to know that meant Ryuko was off fighting in basically nothing but he had no time to look for her.

This had to end soon.

The rumbling ground was the only warning as the Original Life Fiber flowed up into the grounds and over his shield. Even this, while very alarming, was not something he could let distract him. This was the best chance at defeating the head of Chronos he was likely to get.

* * *

Ryuko felt like her limbs were lead. The Scissor Blades were not too heavy, but she was only fighting on her own strength. She was the only person not being dominated by the field of Ragyo, but she could not get at the power source, Hoomaru, in the kamui.

"You think you can truly fight me child, Life Fibers will envelope the world and there is nothing any of you can do." Strands ensnared the Elite 4 and everyone else into the newly reinvigorated Original Life Fiber as it covered the rocket in the middle of the yard. Only the island of the Gigantic shield stood out there now.

Nui was giggling as Ragyo looked on in amusement. All were shocked when a transformed Senketsu flew through the air as a rocket and punctured Hoomaru straight out of Shinra-koketsu.

"WHAT?!" The shock of all was broken by Ryuko's smile as Senketsu freely came back onto her and the Original Life Fiber exploded with escaping students. Without hesitation, Ryuko transformed back into Synchronization mode and tossed Satsuki one of the Scissor Blades. The daughters of Ragyo were going to finish this.

* * *

The human had surprised him truly. He now knew pain more than anytime before and realized his blunder. He had wasted energy on the 2 strange humans Ragyo and Nui and then later Ryuko Matoi. They had been far stronger than anticipated and even with the months of rest, it had not been enough.

Guyver I had somehow pinpointed the moment of attack, meaning the Gigantic could analyze his energy levels and knew when to attack. This shield, normally a minor inconvenience with a teleport, now held him. They had exchanged more fists and the blades had whistled dangerously close to him.

He had one last card to play and saw it unfold behind him.

 ** _Will you abandon your friends Guyver I? They seem to be in a bit of a pickle after their quick rebound._** They both saw Nui behead herself the the Life Fibers healed the wounds of Ragyo as she merged with the rocket. He knew what that meant as much as the Guyver must at this point. It was a question of power now.

The Gigantic could likely destroy him, but the cost would be the world they stood on. He saw the orbs moving, and knew he was thinking. It would have to be soon as the exhaust built up.

"Damn you Zoalord." The shield snapped off and Archanfel wasted no time. He used his remaining strength to quickly fly away back to the Rift. His speed was pathetic but he saw the chest open as the rocket took the to the skies. On the off chance he failed, it was dangerous to remain on this world any longer.

 ** _Chronos will rule forever. I will seal the Rift and you will never get back Guyver I. You can be the most powerful being here for all I care now._** Bitterness filled him at this failure. He was a demigod, but that boy had defeated him. He had learned things here, nuanced his control of the unit beyond anything in the reports. Hammelcar was wrong. The Guyver was far more frightening in the hands of a skilled user, and Guyver I had become skilled. Fighting beings far weaker than him had taught him control he could never learn fighting Zoanoids.

They needed to seal the Rift and lock him away forever. It was the only chance they had now.

The wounded Zoalord felt like he was moving as a snail to the Rift, but he knew he would escape regardless, the price of the Giga-smasher was without avoidance.

* * *

Ryuko stared in horror and frustration as Ragyo began to ascend into the sky. They had victory within their grasp, but once again, she proved how monstrous they were. She had Nui turn herself into a power core for the Original Life Fiber and merged with it.

"What is that big glowing thing?!" Mako was looking down into the yard as the smoke cleared and they saw the Gigantic with its chest open and shining. There was no sign of Archanfel at all and Ryuko was about to look when the world blazed with energy.

It burned through the air and they saw it catch the rocket directly in the beam. They heard the scream even as far away as they were.

Ryuko stared as Life Fibers fell out of the sky like rain. Senketsu began to absorb them that were nearby, but all stared at the empty sky. There was no sign of Ragyo or anything anymore. By making it small enough to hit all at once, Ragyo had made it so the Gigantic could destroy her in one shot.

"He always had that kind of power and never used it. He could have ruled this school on the day he arrived but just lived here. I do not understand him." Satsuki seemed stunned and relieved. The Star Cocoon had been stopped, if not as they planned, their combined effort had worked together to make it possible.

"He is not that complicated Satsuki, just wounded in ways that are hard to explain until you see it yourself." Ryuko began to hop down the steps as the Gigantic orbs were clearly moving and it turned towards Honno Town.

* * *

Sho felt time slip away, but he could not hold back on the power for that shot. He saw it all in detail with his orbs as Ragyo had been disintegrated with the Original Life Fiber. Archanfel was still in range and moving back to the Rift.

Sho felt the Gigantic strain to release, but he held it. It was easier holding still and pin pointed Archanfel himself. He watched as he approached the Rift and finally got the answer he had needed for so long after coming here.

Archanfel opened the Rift and slipped through back to the Earth he called home. He let the armor go and felt humor bubble up. It was so obvious now.

"Sho?" Ryuko came up to him in the base Guyver as the Gigantic vanished. Right then she was the most beautiful being alive. She was why he still had a way home!

"We can do it Ryuko. You, Satsuki, and I can get me home!" Sho began to laugh at the confused look on her face but Sho could not help it. It was so simple and so clear now that he had seen it.

The power of the Guyver with the 2 kamui would unlock the Rift to his Earth.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Dr Balcus was suffering from the machine's interference. Even in his Zoalord form, he had barely held off Guyver III. The reinforcements had helped as distractions, but eventually he had exhausted himself back to his normal, overly large human state.

Despair had begun to seep in as the telepathic interference drained him. Still, Guyver III had reached his limits as well. Now it was only a matter of who recovered first.

The Rift began to distend and distort at that moment and golden energy heralded the return of Archanfel. The ancient Zoalord felt terror enter his mind as he saw the state of his Lord. He was bleeding! That should not be possible!

 ** _It would seem you have been troubled Hammelcar. Even in this state, it should not be a problem. After that we must seal the Rift. Guyver I must never return._** Despite the confidence of the words, a clear sign that Archanfel's telepathy worked despite the machine. He saw the Thunderbolts freeze in their battlefronts as the Lord of Chronos returned for all to see.

"Now you will remember who is God of this world humans." Balcus began to laugh as Archanfel moved to prepare his attacks.


	24. Chapter 24 - Homecoming

**Guyver Earth**

Agito felt his confidence flee from him. Their temporary HQ was overlooking the small valley where the Gigantic and he had faced that odd crystal Zoanoid more than a year gone. The simply large building was seemingly meaningless in the battle for Earth, but he knew the only way to get Guyver I back was inside that building.

All of that fell away from his thoughts as golden energy emerged from the partially burnt doorway. Only one Zoalord made that effect, and despite all his confidence when fighting Balcus, this one truly terrified him.

Archanfel had returned from wherever Fukamachi had gone and apparently the price had been high. A broken left arm and injuries that were not healing, but the solid glow of power left no doubt their dominance on this battlefield was being overturned.

 ** _Ah, Guyver III. I am so happy you have saved us time to hunt you down and kill you. You see, without you, Guyver I can never return._** Agito felt terror grip his heart in equal measures with despair.

"Oh no! I never thought of what kept the rift open. There is only one piece of technology left the Gigantic recognizes through Sho!" Segawa's words were useless repetition, but he was tinkering with his machine for some reason. It was all pointless. Nothing they possessed, even as injured as he was, could hurt this Zoalord.

"Try this frequency Tetsuo." Mitsuki pointed to a display and her brother smirked at the idea. He felt empty watching these two try to defy their imminent deaths.

 ** _AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!_** The world froze as the wary Thunderbolts and Agito saw the mighty master of Chronos grip his winged head in pain. Energy attempted to coalesce, but it was like it could not quite take form. The golden energy continued to envelope him, but he clearly could no longer fight back!

"Segawa, I may have to give you a massive raise!" The despair was replaced with hope as Archanfel retreated back inside the door. Now they needed to hope he could recover in time to bio-boost or Fukamachi's return.

"I can only maintain this for another hour or so Makishima, after that the power will blow and nothing can be done." He looked grim, but with determination. Agito remembered a much more timid classmate who was far more excited about his science fiction club than practical things.

"Then I suggest we all start praying for a miracle, the miracle of the Guyver." He sent orders for the heaviest artillery they had left, the reinforcements had stopped coming once the nearby bases learned they would just lose Zoanoids. Time was their greatest enemy now.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

The world had been saved. Ragyo was gone and the Original Life Fiber with her. There was however the question of Honnouji Academy and the still dormant Fibers throughout the world. The forces of Nudist Beach and others had begun to move again under the orders of Satsuki giving them files and locations. They would take care of that, but the Elite 4, Satsuki, Mikisugi, Mako, and Ryuko stood in a certain location in Honno Town.

Here the air rippled slightly, barely visible, and Sho was working with Inumuta on his idea.

"I see…yes." The slim boy was quickly calculating numbers and nodded vigorously. "You are correct Fukamachi. The power of the 2 kamuis likely distort this Rift when at maximum output. As they are now, it should be able to open it, but we still need to control it."

"That is where the Gigantic will come in again. I think that is what happened last time. The Void gave me more power than I could disperse safely, and the Gigantic did the best it could. Or maybe I gave it an order to safely disperse the wild energies caused by our battle. I doubt I will know for sure, but after seeing Archanfel, I could replicate that for sure." Sho looked haggard, but he had been fed and rested briefly.

All could feel time slip away. The monster that had slipped away would not wait forever. The Rift could be getting sealed even now.

"Even so, you are exhausted, you will need help to keep it open on the way through. Otherwise you could become trapped." Inumuta was not liking the numbers he saw. "Sadly we do not have anything that can survive these energies. The Life Fibers might, but the person wearing them would be constantly torn to shreds."

Ryuko perked up finally after half listening to some ideas Mako had for a fun date with Satsuki sometime in the future. Senketsu and she were keeping an eye on her friend as he looked forlorn now.

* * *

"Absolutely not Ryuko." All froze at Satsuki's use of her first name. Her raven hair seemed stark now with the white of Junketsu as a contrast in his uniform mode. Both of the Bakuzan blades on her hips had a hand each on them as she stood firm before them.

She was not being arrogant though, there was a real fear in those once cold blue eyes. Ryuko actually felt something akin to joy that Satsuki worried about her. It was weird, but honestly family beyond her father was still a new concept, save the truly odd Mankanshokus.

"You can relax Satsuki, I am not going as is." Ryuko had an idea, but it required acceptance from her other half.

 _I am much stronger thanks to the Life Fibers from before Ryuko, but I will need more._ Sho looked confused until he finally had it all click. He was shaking his head before Ryuko only looked at the Elite 4 and Mako and they nodded to her. Blinding light flashed for all and suddenly Ryuko felt more power than ever before.

Senketsu changed, surging with the power of the 5 uniforms and all he had absorbed. His eye patch was opened as another eye and the red accents on her uniform glowed like the sun. It was only as the world came back into focus that she realized all could hear Senketsu now.

"Ryuko—I can't guarantee you can come back." Sho looked forlorn and yet desperate. He wanted to go, but he would not betray his friends for his own ends. His dark eyes pleaded for this miracle, but she felt his heart again. He would not break up a family.

She flashed to the still unconscious Segawas and Fumio Fukamachi that had been through the nightmare of this Earth's Sho. That body had been carefully found and treated with respect at Satsuki's explicit orders.

"Satsuki, Sho, I have to do this not just for my friends, but because we are not done with the monsters. They have killed so many and they did… _that_ …before running away. You fought the final battle against Ragyo with us, I will not abandon you now." She felt confidence for the first time tempered by experience. This was not a rash decision, and she flipped a bang behind her ears as she smiled at her sister.

Her words had broken the worry and found the pride she knew so well. Honnouji Academy had its representative it would seem and all knew she had sworn the monster would pay. Junketsu switched to Override Mode and she quickly embraced her Ryuko!

"Please come back to me, don't leave me again." Tears fell onto her cheeks and Ryuko was stunned to find her own tears as well. They had loathed each other, then understood, and finally come through a nightmare to find they were lost family. Mako and her family were always in her heart, but the loss of her father was still there, waiting for her. Having a sister that had valued her, even if she had thought Ryuko dead, seemed to be warming to her.

* * *

Sho saw them in that embrace and felt a stab of true guilt. He was short on time, but the danger to Ryuko was real. They could not be certain what was going to happen. The nude forms of Mako and the Elite 4, after all the other Nudists barely phased him anymore. He went to them first and thanked them.

"It has been loads of fun and wish you could stay Sho. I will miss you lots and will tell the others too!" Mako never could stay still. It was damned distracting to have her hug him even though he was clothed. Still, she was the first friend he had made here and she had been with him through some rough parts.

"Thank you all, truly. I am sorry my troubles compounded yours. And Satsuki," he turned to the formidable woman who had learned a new path before his very eyes. She looked hard into his eyes and he smiled. "I will get her home if I have to rip the universe apart again to do so."

The firm truth carried over and a lot of tension went out of her. She knew of all, he would go to any length for a friend.

The 2 women in their kamui moved to either side of the rift and closed their eyes. It was his turn now.

"GIGANTIC!" It was even odds how long this would last, but as first the Guyver, then the Gigantic closed around him, Sho felt the energies vibrate around him. "Help me Guyver, it is time to go home."

The massive Control Metal flared blue and Sho felt knew possibilities. He saw how the Rift could be manipulated and replicated what Archanfel had done.

The world began to distort in front of him and then suddenly Ryuko was at his side as Satsuki looked on. The group of 5 naked students behind her and the ruins of Honno Town began to fall away and become dim. The energies of dimensions closed around the Gigantic and Ryuko.

 _Hurry Sho, this is painful for us both!_ Sho felt the kamui's pain and focused on his goal. The last spark of the Earth he had come to call home sparked out and energies of all colors exploded in his head.

* * *

 **Between Realities**

It was too much! The Guyver was trying, but the information was too much!

He was seeing things that made no sense and as he let it distract him, he could suddenly hear things.

 _Lelouch Vi Brittiania commands you…die!_ A boy with strange eyes stood in front of soldiers in a ruined shed of some kind as a woman with green hair lay bled out on the ground behind him.

He saw four people fighting a massive monster in a forest. One of them breathed fire, another seemed to summon ice, while a red headed woman fought in the air with armor and a sword. The last blonde woman seemed to be selecting a key of some kind.

He saw giants ravage a village in horrifying fashion by eating the humans inside.

He felt terror as insects the size of battleships attacked Japan.

It was getting worse, the images and sounds were ripping his mind apart.

It was somewhere between the vision of someone named Heero Yuy piloting some kind of giant robot and another red haired man flying an equally red starship with arms into battle that he felt her.

 _Sho! Sho focus on my voice, just my voice. Feel me Sho, there is only you and I and nothing else._ He saw her again. He saw her stand in defiance of common sense against the President of Honnouji Academy and its Elite 4. He saw her fight battle after battle to find the truth about her father's death. He saw her fall into despair and pain, only to be saved by love of her friend. He saw her lose all faith in herself, only to claw back up to save a friend. He saw her fight the world to not be forced into one mold.

He saw Ryuko Matoi with no more filters in this space. There were one once again. On the Naked Sol they had been in pain and in need of comfort, but here they were one being with one goal. They could not do this alone, but together, they were unstoppable.

The storm of chaos was still there, but now he had an anchor and searched for the other end of the string that made this Rift.

He felt it at last. He felt Makishima panicking and in fear. He saw Archanfel emerge from some shed in the small valley he had last stood on his Earth in pain, but partially healed by Optimizing most likely. He saw his best friend Tetsuo working on some machine and he felt a jolt as he saw Mitsuki.

She was beautiful to him, but he found a stab of guilt for his other half. He felt he was not admitting to something if he just fled back to his world.

 _You really are slow Sho._ He felt amusement in the pain and remembered she was constantly regenerating. He had no time to waste for either woman he cared for. He commanded the Gigantic and it moved towards its goal at last. It was going home.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

The headache was fading at last. Balcus had been nearly passed out, but at last that damnable sound had faded after a quick dip in an Optimization tank. They were not keyed to his special needs, but for a quick pick me up, they had done wonders. His arm was till broken, but he felt immensely better.

The pathetic humans had weapons that even when he had arrived would not have bothered him. He saw that Guyver III had not recovered enough too. This would be fun.

* * *

Agito knew they were dead. The machine had begun to fail suddenly well before Segawa's prediction. He was took weak to even bio-boost. He might be able to save himself, but he doubted it. It was all pointless without his forces. Chronos had won the gamble. They were doomed. He felt a roar building as Balcus sat with a smile looking up the hill at them.

The old man with his long beard seemed to be enjoying the end of all the threats to Chronos.

He was stunned as suddenly red blades smashed through the walls.

"Hey shiny prick. We are not done with our dance!" The whole world became absurd at those words. A young girl wearing barely anything with a dark skirt, boots, and some kind of strange top that nearly exposed her breasts if not of the red suspenders, stood confidently in the door of the building she had just shredded.

Agito expected laughter or derision from Archanfel, instead he saw something he never expected to see. Fear!

* * *

 ** _How are you here Ryuko Matoi?!_** The words burned her mind just as badly as before, but she had no time to waste. There was another of the supposed Zoalords barely standing just to her left. He looked like an overweight man with a way too long beard and red glow stone in his forehead, but she knew better.

"Let's go Senketsu, no need to hold back!" She felt the power flow and the world blurred. She quickly pinned the old man's arms with her scissor blade and hit him hard with her right fist. The disturbing fact his face did not get crushed proved the inhuman monster inside. However, he was apparently exhausted from something as he passed out immediately.

Not even pausing she kept moving as blasts of energy tried to vaporize her. The forest around them became empty tracks of land. She saw there were some already smaller such burns in the ground.

Archanfel was not letting her get close, and he was not going to get hit by a flying ship anytime soon. Still she smiled as a burst of light on the hill told her reinforcements were coming.

* * *

Agito did not care how she was so powerful, only that she bought him the time he needed. The Guyver was feeling heavy, a bad sign, but not as bad as he feared. He opened his chest plates and began to charge for the mega smasher.

Both Segawas, after their initial shock of seeing a barely clothed girl almost easily disable Balcus while fighting the most dangerous being alive with equal speed, had begun the retreat. They were more than familiar how these battles could go.

The only question he had was where was Fukamachi?

* * *

Sho was barely holding on. The Rift was trying to close now that he was here and if he took one more step it would do so. He understood he was connected to Guyver III and it had kept the Rift open by a constant back and forth signal between them.

He was already exhausted, but he could not trap Ryuko on his Earth. The little more than a year on hers had not been terrible, but he had felt the ache of missing all he loved and worrying every day what was happening. He could not put her through that, not after learning about her sister so soon.

He felt the sweat building and the need to release the Gigantic build, but he held on. He would keep his word no matter what.

The sounds of explosions were increasing, but so long as they did not stop was good. Archanfel was not about constant attacks and even here, he could tell the Zoalord was running out of time as well. Sadly, Sho would fail before the golden being would.

Thankfully he felt Guyver III engage and smiled. Agito was not very merciful where Zoanoids were concerned.

* * *

The twit was moving faster than he could attack. She had gained power from somewhere and even survived the journey through that troublesome Rift. He power was fading even after soon in the tank. Guyver III could not threaten him, but this petulant child had proven dangerous.

Archanfel was keeping an eye out for the Gigantic as well, but did not miss the danger of Guyver III. He found his mind coming up with something devious. If he understood Fukamachi at all, then the best tactic to win would be quite simple.

The ground barely moved as he slowly floated toward the right position. Just as before, it was best not to underestimate him.

* * *

Agito was finally charged and the glowing form of his hated enemy was all that filled his vision. Without pause he unleashed the terrifying power of the megasmasher right at him! The laughter died quickly after as his mind finally registered where the Zoalord was standing.

It was right in front of the building's door!

 _Fukamachi move!_

* * *

 _Ryuko, Sho is in danger!_ She saw it as Senketsu screamed in her mind. The other Guyver was powering up to release and did not seem to notice where he was firing. She changed mid movement to fly at the Zoalord only to see the light spike at the top of the hill. She knew that light well.

The world became a blur as she tried to get there in time. The pale eyes looked right at her as it vanished at the last moment, leaving her in the path of the megasmasher!

* * *

The whole valley exploded in a massive dust cloud as the megasmasher hit its target. Agito fell to his knees as the Guyver disengaged. What had he done?

 ** _That was a good shot Guyver III._** Almost with no feeling left, Agito brushed the dark hair out of his eyes to see the most powerful Zoalord standing next to him. He saw no mercy in the eyes, but amusement was there.

The foolish arrogance and hate in him became meaningless. He had not been fighting against Chronos to free the world, but to rule it. His goal had now doomed the world. His desire to not lose and gain ultimate victory had wiped out the strange new ally and his old one in one shot.

 ** _We are done now. I am going to take you back to HQ Japan and we will remove your control metal. Enjoy your last hour human._** The good right arm was reaching out and he had no power to stop it.

The world exploded in blood as a red scissor blade pierced Archanfel's head followed quickly by one to the heart.

Both the Zoalord and the human had equal looks of shock. Agito felt the warm splash on his skin and clothes as the mighty Zoalord's shell cracked and fell away to the human form underneath.

He was still not dead!

Agito turned with hope and before he could quite make it, blue blurred by him as the air hummed with a noise he knew so well. The blades of a Guyver!

Blood fountained from the now decapitated human form of Archanfel. It started to fall like rain for a short time before the corpse burst into a self destruct of light and chemicals. The acrid smell did not deter Agito from looking behind him to see the heaving form of Guyver I.

His elbow blades were caked in blood as his face vents blew air out fiercely.

"A Guyver, never dies Zoalord. Neither does Ryuko or Senketsu!" Fukamachi's voice was full of exhaustion, but he stood tall. Agito felt the world fall away in a strange relief as blackness closed in.

* * *

Ryuko stood in the middle of an island of undisturbed earth. Everything else to the left or right was destroyed, but Sho had protected her at the last moment with the last of his time as the Gigantic. It had disengaged immediately, but she felt him hold on to the base Guyver. With his orbs, he found Archanfel and she hit him with an attack he could neither detect nor deflect.

The shock at him not dying was short lived as Sho blew forward with blades extended. Once again, the Guyver finished off the monsters of the world.

 _You are exhausted Ryuko. We need to rest._ The sweat slicked areas were clear to her as well as the tremors in her limbs. She and Sho had pushed beyond their limits to end the nightmare, but it was not time to collapse yet. They had to secure this area if she ever hoped to get home.

She had seen the Rift was gone now, the opening made in the wall by her just led to the inside now. What would Satsuki be going through, what would the others do?

She saw the Guyver disengage and rushed to the top of the hill as Sho fell. He was completely unconscious, but he landed rather embarrassingly on her chest. Heat filled her cheeks as she let Senketsu revert to sailor mode to make it more decent.

She saw people coming up the hill, 2 in particular stood out as they sprinted to her holding Sho. There was no doubt they were friends. Ryuko allowed herself to kneel down and lay Sho gently on the grass. The burned ground marked where Archanfel had been. Sadly, this world had more monsters to spare. The battle against Chronos was not done.


	25. Chapter 25 - Problem with Power

He felt something. It was almost forgotten in the battle with Life Fibers and adapting to his new world, but he longed to feel the hand in his he had now. Sho slowly felt the darkness fade from his mind as he felt the warm hand of Mitsuki once more holding his.

He cracked his dark eyes open to see the dark hair falling to the side of her face as she lay sleeping on one of his legs as he lay on some kind of cot. There was a cloth ten erected that barely held the cot, a small table with a gas lamp, and a chest of no doubt clothes and supplies. It had not been here long either judging from the lack of sag that comes from ropes settling to the sway of wind in an area.

He felt like lead was in all his limbs but it was always like that after pushing himself with the Gigantic or the Guyver.

Memory made a rude intrusion as he saw in his mind the blur of closing in on Archanfel and the final look of surprise on the Zoalords face as the Guyver vibroblade sliced through his neck. He was long passed being disturbed by killing, but it was still harder when it was up close and in human form.

He also remembered the Rift was sealed, and Ryuko was now trapped on his Earth. Pinching his nose at the list of worries cropping up, he felt Mitsuki move slightly.

"Sho…" She mumbled in her sleep but that single word, his name, brought a flame of relief to his heart and a stab of guilt. In the passage home he had come to accept that he was closer to Ryuko than he had ever planned to be. It was hard not to miss why it happened, they were very similar, but it hurt to know his heart could become fickle like this after all the hardships he and his friends suffered at the hands of Chronos.

Shaking the last of his sleep away, and gently extricating himself from Mitsuki, he let her sleep a bit more and went in search of an aroma that smelled sadly like rations. He had not missed those at all.

* * *

Tetsuo was burning with questions about the strange girl but she had bluntly rebuffed even simple things and seemed irritated. She also kept mumbling to herself as if she was talking to someone but not getting an answer.

He stirred the stew, a term he applied loosely to what was in the pot on the cook fire, and hoped the few vegetables they had added would make it taste better.

Since she had a awoken, she had seemed like something was bugging her, but when she checked on Sho, she had become downright irritable.

As if summoned, his friend came around the corner and he forgot everything else. Tears stung his eyes and he had to remove his glasses as he stood up. Quickly putting them back on, he was tackled in a hug hard.

"Tetsuo!" He had sorely missed that voice and returned the quick hug in kind. Too many times his friend put him on the edge of nerves, but this had been worse because he knew Sho had been facing Zoanoids without him or Mitsuki.

"I am glad you woke up Sho, sorry about the food in advance." Both grinned like idiots at the joke but then Sho caught sight of Ryuko and became grim. He moved over to her and the slump to his shoulders was more typical of the old Sho he remembered from before the Guyver.

"I am so sorry Ryuko, I could not hold the Rift open. I will do all I can to get you home." Sho got down on his hands and knees and the look of surprise on her face told Tetsuo that was not what got her mad.

 _There is no need to bow like that to us Sho. You saved both of us and I appreciate helping Ryuko, but she is denying her hurt about earlier in the tent._ A strange male voice suddenly filled Tetsuo's head and he looked around for any speakers but saw nothing. Sho seemed to stiffen and then nod.

"I understand Senketsu, but we need to wait for Mitsuki as well. It needs to be all at once or their is no point." Tetsuo was very confused now. Who was this Senketsu?

"You both try talking around me again and I will slap you to the horizon, you know I can!" The deep blush and clear thunderhead in her blue eyes made Tetsuo wish for Makishima in his Guyver. He was still passed out from the long battle against Balcus and the Hyper-Zoanoids. The Thunderbolts were reporting to him and so far Chronos had left them alone.

He clenched his fist at the thought of Balcus, he had escaped during the chaos of the final fight. It would only be a matter of time before they came back. They had to go soon.

"I am not talking around you Ryuko, but everyone has a right to know the truth and to catch up. I also need to know if the Rift is completely sealed, or if the Gigantic can crack it open one more time. In both instances, I need rest and time to get things figured out." The Sho that stood up was now an entirely different person than Tetsuo remembered.

The Guyver had brought Sho confidence, even an almost scary kind of warrior stance he had never had before, but this person before him now was different. He seemed far more, well balanced and Tetsuo found himself wanting to know what Sho thought they should be doing.

"GUYVER!" The blaze of light was followed by the blue armor enclosing his friend and the orbs began to move. Curious to where this was going, Tetsuo was surprised when the air vibrated with a low frequency. It put his teeth on edge, but this Ryuko seemed to find it truly bothersome.

Suddenly, 2 Zoanoids collapsed from trees just beyond the perimeter. The dust cloud was barely thrown up before the creatures were sliced in half. Ryuko and he stared as Sho made his way back still scanning it seemed.

"That seems to be the last of them and no sign of Balcus as a prisoner, so he must have escaped. Ryuko, take Senketsu and check for anything farther out by a mile. I will get things ready here for an attack. Chronos will not wait, like Ragyo, they are tenacious even in defeat." The girl nodded and then pulled something on the red glove she wore.

The red glare passed to have her in some kind of racy version of her uniform! She picked up the massive red scissors and then she left a dust cloud behind as she vanished from his sight.

"Tetsuo, if Makishima is awake get him. Otherwise I will need current watch commanders and maps. We are staying a little longer, then we will need to move." Sho looked at him as the Guyver waiting. He had never given orders before, but while surprising, it was still Sho.

He was talking to his friend and asking for help, just with more confidence.

He nodded hard and headed for the command tent.

* * *

Agito felt like a thousand buildings had fallen on his head. The darkness was slow to recede, but he felt the roll of a vehicle and knew they were moving on the ground somewhere. He felt a cool cloth on his head and the aroma of a slight lavender told him who must be with him.

He smiled up at the sleeping from of Shizu as she was strapped in. No doubt they had met up with their back up force and were now retreating.

Memory suddenly intruded and he tried to sit upright, only to find straps hold him down. He saw the pull release by his hands and knew it was to keep him still as they moved. How long had he been out this time?

"Are you fully awake sir?" Agito tilted his head up to find 2 of Shizu's assistants from the medical unit. They had learned to respect her wishes and the knowledge she possessed in medicine far exceeded most to begin with. She was not officially the leader of the medical unit, but they deferred to her often. Anything with the Guyvers was left to her and Mitsuki though.

"Brief me." His terse orders were normal, but he felt shock hit him. They were not retreating at all! They were moving to the most dangerous place in Japan!

* * *

"This seems foolish sir, are you sure about this?" It was not the first time the commander had questioned the order to Tokyo. Sho knew he was pushing things, but he needed to end this. Killing Archanfel would only rile up the other Zoalords and without him, they might lose their focus and start in fighting or worse, try to replicate him.

Dr Balcus was severely injured and no doubt had run here to the only safe optimization facility to heal his wounds. There were no better chances to stop that possible nightmare than now and to show the world that Chronos was not absolute.

He felt better after eating, the croquettes were more appealing that that stew could ever be, but it was still food. He had gone back to rest as well and Mitsuki had found him that way but did not wake him.

Now, they were closing in on Tokyo, the many lights of the cityscape were close and the one target, the massive twin tower skyscraper, was his goal.

"Sho, you need to rest." Mitsuki held his hand tight and the worry in her eyes pierced his controls, but he knew in this instance he had to hold strong.

"I can rest once this is done, it is the only way I can rest." Sho brushed her hair behind her ear as he had a thousand times before, but he felt a stab of guilt again.

"Ryuko, are you ready?" Most in the room turned in surprise to the girl none had seen enter. She stood with her scissors leaning against the flap of the tent. She seemed to be looking anywhere but at him and he knew why.

 _We are ready for battle Sho, always. What do you need us to do?_ Sho smiled that Senketsu was playing peacemaker a bit. He felt a bit of tension from him though. Still, he concentrated hard and knew the kamui could feel what he sent. He felt the tension drain a bit.

"I need you as we have done so far of course. We are going to do battle with the monsters that attacked Honnouji Academy and killed so many innocents. We are after the creator of those nightmares, Dr Balcus." That got Ryuko's attention and confused most of the Thunderbolts.

"You know us Sho, we are with you. Those bastards are going to feel the power of a kamui hard!" The fire in her eyes was more what he expected, but the risk was great. He nodded to the rest and they acknowledged it back. The plan was straight forward and thankfully got a bit of a boost form Tetsuo.

"Begin the assault on Chronos Japan HQ." He and Ryuko fell into step as orders passed and Tetsuo began to flick switches. Sho felt the eyes of Mitsuki burning into his back as he walked out of the tent.

* * *

"Are you insane?!" Sho turned to see a barely walking Makishima helped by Shizu. He had not expected to miss the terse and cold tones of Guyver III, but unlike Satsuki, he had not found humility it would seem.

"We have one chance to end Balcus for good and retake Japan. This is it Makishima. You have laid the ground work of resistance and now we need to take back this place. We have to show we can win." Sho was not sure why he was able to speak so calmly and confidently. They were about to assault a building that was openly guarded by thousands of Zoanoids and Hyper-Zoanoids with who knows what else. Even so, he felt sure they could win.

"What will you do after that Fukamachi? What will you do when you rule Japan? There are still 10 more Zoalords assuming Balcus is the only one in there. What will you do then?" The questions were valid and Sho had not thought that far ahead entirely, but he knew where to begin.

"I will give the Zoanoids a choice, to help fight for freedom or to face the power of the Guyver. I will give the people back their lives to be their own. I will protect Japan Agito, but I will not rule it." Turning back he saw Ryuko looking at him differently. She was no longer irritated or battle ready, but crying. She saw what he had hoped to spare her. She knew what he was doing.

He would never be free of the Guyver, never able to put it down. The war was just beginning.

She suddenly blurred by him and he felt the clang of her blades with the vibration of Guyver blades.

"What are those made of?!" Agito had bio-boosted in his distraction and launched an attack. He could not have fully recovered, but Sho had no choice.

"GUYVER!" The armor enclosed him and he turned to face Guyver III. "I have no time for this, but I know your goals are not mine. We never agreed on this, but I think you are more like Chronos if you wish to rule the world." He saw a flinch to the Guyver III and wondered if Makishima had had a few revelations while he was away.

"We need to assume power so we are not controlled ever again Fukamachi. We need to use our power to guide this world down the path we deem best for it!" Sho saw Shizu look with worry at him but he only kept his attention on Guyver III. He understood some of the wounds his fellow Guyver carried, but after living with Ryuko and the others, he knew the dangers of letting those wounds carry you through revenge.

"And what is that path? What would you make of the world as its ruler? What will you do with all that power besides control it to your whim?" Both of them assumed fighting stances. All of Sho's senses told him Makishima was barely holding the unit on. Still, that was when a Guyver was most dangerous as he well knew.

"I will become the God of this world Fukamachi, I will take the Gigantic from you because you do not know how to use the power of the Guyver properly, you never have!" Exhaustion was clearly making him more honest. Shizu was frowning and crying now. He saw Ryuko look at him with a raised red glove but he shook his head. There was no need.

"Then it is time you see what I learned while I was away Makishima." He felt the world blur but Makishima was moving just as fast. He had one hand out with a gravity blast and Sho smiled. It was almost like looking back at how badly Lisker had punished him with Guyver II and he now understood how that felt like. He now knew the Guyver better than anyone alive.

* * *

Agito smirked at the foolish Fukamachi. Tired as he was, he knew what could be eked out of a Guyver to win. Sho had never been more than straightforward and learning from each battle how to be better. What could have he learned in only a year with an occasional Zoanoid to fight?

He unleashed his gravity cannon with discrete shots and followed it by head beams. There was no way the megasmasher could be used right now, but everything else was up for grabs. He saw the Guyver then do something impossible.

Fukamachi seemed to anticipate the attacks, but not only that he dodged and then very quickly turned as if in a dance to avoid all the other attacks. He was moving with an ability Agito had never thought the Guyver could do. More than that, he occasionally negated an attack with his own gravity blasts.

How was he able to so quickly react and repel attacks? Where had he learned that?! Agito noticed the blades of Guyver I were still retracted as well, did he intend to just avoid the attacks until he had to release the Guyver himself?

He focused and unleashed a devastating audio blast, only to suddenly lose sight of the Guyver I. His orbs barely warned him in time to dodge from above as Fukamachi landed right on top of him! He rolled to the left and assumed a stance, only to find the Guyver I in front of him!

The punch to the gut was not as strong as the Guyver could do, he knew that, but it was just enough to knock him straight to the ground and come close to passing out. The air began to vibrated in an annoying way that put his teeth on edge, and then stunningly, he felt on the verge of throwing up!

He quickly disengaged the armor and rushed to the side of the fire light.

* * *

Shizu was stunned. Not once did Sho attack or try to damage Master Agito. He had simply closed the distance as quickly as possible and then somehow induced vomiting.

"I wish you would stop with that audio attack, it is annoying." The strange girl in the exposed midriff sailor uniform was shaking her head from that odd vibration earlier.

"Sorry about that, I had to disorient him enough to sick up or he would not have disengaged the armor. Now that he is exhausted again, he can't re-equip safely for awhile." Guyver I turned to her and bowed slightly. "I am sorry for the trouble Shizu, but take care of Makishima until we return. He can watch from the command tent if he wishes and I will welcome his input on any weakness we can exploit." She swept a stray bang behind her ears as she really looked at Guyver I.

It was subtle, but the boy she had met in her cabin so long ago by Relics Point had been replaced with a battle hardened warrior. More than that, she felt safe leaving the world in his hands. Master Agito she would follow forever, but in her heart she knew he had a lot of healing to do as well. Sho on the otherhand, seemed to have found something in the little over a year he had been gone.

"Let's go do what we do best Ryuko." The Guyver walked off into the shadows with the strange girl in tow. Shortly, a red glow followed by 2 forms flying to the tower could just be seen by her.

* * *

Tetsuo saw his machine was up and running smoothly. Assuming mental commands ran the towers, they would now be useless. It would be a bonus if most of the Zoanoids inside were controlled as well, because they would be less inclined to fight.

The Thunderbolts were doing well with taking out a few depots and generally getting attention of the Zoanoids. They were armed with better weapons to specifically attack Zoanoids as well. This distraction would be more than enough to keep the HQ busy, more so because the men were blatantly brandishing the symbol of the resistance, a yellow lighting bolt.

"Tetsu, what is that girl to Sho?" He had been waiting for that question. He did not have a full answer, but assuming she was human, she may have been his only companion on the other side of the Rift. It was not impossible that after so many battles alone, or with comrades, that Sho would have made friends. It was not impossible that in the fight before Archanfel he had felt true mortality either.

"I am not sure sis, I am truly not sure, but he promised to tell us when he gets back." That was pure truth and the confidence in his proposal to return told the boy he meant it. He saw the troubled look on her face and decided to put forth at least something to consider. "He faced Archanfel alone so far as we know Mitsuki, but if that girl helped him survive, then I am willing to accept a lot. Just wait for Sho to tell us and we can go from there."

The realization passed over her eyes of the frightening power of that Zoalord and she nodded. For now she would wait, but as with Sho, there was a mettle behind her eyes that she would not lose either. He could almost pity Sho, but not quite.

"Commander Tetsuo, it begins." He turned to the monitors as he heard the flap open behind him.

"Keep me updated as well." All turned to see a pale as a sheet Agito, but he was there with Shizu at his side. The communicator nodded and they all saw as the assault on Chronos Japan HQ began.

* * *

Ryuko had no idea how many of the things there were. She and Senketsu were perfectly in sync and she lost herself in the battle. Most of the Zoanoids and humans were confused by her, and that bought her a lot of victories. Eventually word spread and she was treated as a threat immediately on sight.

Sho had been conservative in his attacks, but just as brutal. If they ran, he let them go, but otherwise cut them down with his blades. He barely damaged the building until they got to the room of tanks. He showed no mercy here.

 _Ryuko, he is focused on the goal, stay on it for now as well._ She sighed as Senketsu advised on her chaotic state. This was his world now, a world of monsters. She should fit right in. She felt the reprisal before he spoke and just quashed it with anger. She cut loose on the tech in the room as well.

It was thinning out at last as they closed in on the top floor. Resistance should have increased to her mind, but Sho seemed not surprised. His orbs were always moving, always checking.

"Up ahead, there is a Zoalord." He spoke calmly, but she felt sweat breakout on her body from that sentence. The golden bastard had been tougher than even Ragyo, and she had regenerated way too much as it was.

The pristine white corridor had no side doors and only dark steel doors at the end. She distrusted this immediately. Sho seemed to share this and collected a gravity cannon blast. It kept growing and growing until he had it the size of basketball.

The corridor was ripped asunder as it slammed into the doors and blew them off the hinges. Circuits sparked and panels swung back and forth all along the destroyed passage. She also did not miss various signs of chemical breakdown. Zoanoids had been hidden in there.

"They did something to make it impossible to detect them, but the change in pressure I made was too much for them." Sho was calm, cold, and nothing like the boy she knew. She understood this was hard for him. He had avoided killing as much as possible on her world and once back here had been on almost an unending killing spree.

"You are not a monster Sho, I am here with you till the end." The words just sprang from her mouth, and she felt like they were pathetic, but she was surprised to see his shoulders loosen up.

"Thank you for that Ryuko, let's finish this. He is waiting." They went down the corridor to see the master of this place.

* * *

Dr Balcus was still injured, but his time in a tank had restore a large portion of his strength. It would take a week to fully recover, but he had thought himself able to face a single Guyver. The shock of Archanfel's death had passed quickly. It was too much to hope that this time he would defy the final grave as he had once before with Guyot.

He was however now bleeding from several shards of the steel door that Guyver I had somehow blown open only with his gravity blast. That infernal woman was with him as well. The emergency panel was beyond his reach, he could not even command a self destruct as the air burned with that damned machine from the last battlefield.

He could only command with technology, not telepathy. Blood turned his tan and white robs a deep crimson as he pushed himself up slowly. Guyver I stood before him with the scantily clad woman just to his left.

"I wondered what I would feel seeing you. You are the one that turned my father into Enzyme II, that forced an entire village to turn into Zoanoids against their will, and you are responsible for all the dead at Honno Town and Honnouji Academy." The short list was nothing compared to the dead humans that had not survived optimization until he got it right. Still it was not something to bring up right now.

"I did what I had to for X Day and for Chronos. You pathetic children stood in our way. I only cared about Archanfel and our dream." He felt the stab of pain at the mention of Archanfel and saw the Guyver begin to shake.

"Sho, I am right here." He saw the girl be concerned and felt how pathetic it was he was brought low by such simpletons. They had no idea what was coming if Chronos did not rule the world.

"What will you do boy? What will you do with Japan if you win here today?" He had not expected an answer really. He was trying to buy time. The indicators were still in the yellow, but if they reached green he had a chance.

"Ryuko, destroy the tank just above the ceiling there." Balcus felt his jaw drop as the boy pointed directly where the tank was. How had he known it was there?!

She barely paused as the red scissors seemed to suddenly extend and smashed through the crystalline form of a new Void cultivated from the last bit of living sample he had. The burst of acrid chemicals melted the body instantly.

"You can hide the tank but the flow of power and fluid was still in the walls Balcus. I have learned a lot about controlling the Guyver." The blue armor approached and looked at him in pitiless fashion. The blades extended but he did not move in for the kill. The old monster smiled.

"You did not answer my question boy, what will you do when you rule the world?" If this was his last moment, he wanted to know how the world will end.

"I already answered this once before but I will do it again. I will not rule. The Guyver will protect the Earth from Chronos, the Creators, or anyone that comes. I am done running away, done hiding from what I am. I am the Guyver and I will be here for as long as mankind needs me!" They were not empty words. He felt it. He felt the conviction form the boy to walk that road alone.

"You realize the Guyver will never let you die. So long as you have it equipped, you will stay in peak physical condition and watch all you love age and die around you?" The twist of the knife did not have the intended effect.

"If he wants he can drop in on me then, I have lots of time too it seems." The woman smiled wide and the anger in her blues eyes suddenly made him pale. Understanding flooded him. She was like the Guyver! She was why Archanfel had been so badly injured. It was all her fault!

"Can I ask you something Balcus, how long will those crystals last without Archanfel?" The question caught him off guard as he touched the red Zoa crystal in his forehead. The thought had not occurred to him. What would happen without Lord Archanfel? They had been created through sympathetic waves from him, but he knew they were not invulnerable. What would happen?

"As I thought, you do not know. That was the last thing I wanted to ask you." Balcus looked up just as the fist hit his face. Darkness closed in that he knew he would not wake from.

* * *

Sho stood stock still. He felt empty inside, hollow. He knew it would not change anything, but he expected to feel something as he saw his right fist punched through the Zoalords skull. The crystal bounced away intact, but Ryuko quickly shattered it with her blades.

It was over. The nightmare was over. Yet, he did not feel like he had woken up from it.

"Sho, it is time to go, we have to get the files you wanted." He did not move. He could not seem to move. It was as if nothing mattered anymore. All the words he had spoken were ash in his mouth as all he could see was the arm of his father before it disintegrated in front of his eyes in a forest very far from here.

He felt her arms encircle him then. He felt her warmth and Senketsu wrap around his heart.

"It is OK Sho, we are here, you are OK. Let's get going." The gentle words released him. He felt tremors in his body and something clawing its way out of his body. It could no longer be contained.

He roared. The Guyver shot his scream upward and it vaporized the ceiling to expose the night sky. The whole building shook as he just kept screaming until the darkness inside was burned out. The whole time she held onto him and tightly. The whole time she let him scream she never moved.

His senses told him Zoanoids in all directions were fleeing from him. He let them go, he let it all go. It was time to step forward to the next phase, time to let the world know Chronos was going to fall.

* * *

Agito watched in shock as the recorders they had hacked showed the death of Balcus. He was even more stunned as Fukamachi then shattered the building section with just his voice. He finally understood part of why this happened. Fukamachi had never given up the pursuit of Balcus, he had never truly stopped wanting to end that monster.

The difference, was he had not become like the monster in the process. It was like a light had gone off inside at last. He saw in stark clarity the machinations he had used to get his revenge on his uncle and set him on the path to death. He saw how he had taunted and enjoyed it, playing the game with Guyot and later being the Thunderbolt leader.

He saw all he had done and how he had done it and realized the words from the fight burned in him. It burned like a wound because they were true. He had become like Chronos. He had become a true monster and planned to rule the world as one.

"What have I become?" The whispered words were only heard by Shizu, but he felt her arms tighten around him and he remembered a very different night. A night he had lost all controls and she had not denied him. She had embraced the darkness within as part of him.

The final lock broke open and pain wracked his heart. He felt so much pain, grief, and a torrent of other emotions he had rigidly controlled for so long. If Shizu had not been there, he would have collapsed. She quietly supported him and he simply listened to the background until something caught his ear.

"GIGANTIC!" Fukamachi was using the Gigantic?

"What is he doing Segawa?" The large boy turned with a serious look from his controls and looked right at him with his amber eyes.

"Showing that Chronos is not all powerful." He then turned back and Agito finally noticed where The Gigantic was. Surely he could not be thinking of that?

Shock hit him as the chest plates opened.

* * *

 _You did well Ryuko, Sho was lost in his pain._ She felt tears still falling as Senketsu comforted her. In that final moment she realized Sho had been controlling his anger, grief, and who knows all of it. She knew that feeling very well, and more, she knew what if felt after facing that monster and losing control.

What was she going to do with these feelings? If she stayed here, as seemed likely, it was going to be a problem.

The ground began to tremble, but she was at a safe distance. The dark sky turned to day as the twin buildings of Chronos Japan, safely evacuated, where vaporized. The buildings just vanished in the light of the Gigasmasher. The Gigantic rose up out of the ground after and was lit by spotlights.

As he did that, a broadcast was being sent out with Sho's face. He had recorded it on the way and it outlined the basics of all Chronos had done before X Day and the truth about humanity. It was also a declaration of his intent to serve humanity.

The Thunderbolts were free to choose what they wished to do, continue to work with him in defending Japan or focus on attacking Chronos. It was a bit melodramatic, but it was backed up by the reams of data she had transmitted earlier.

The final bit was simple, but Japan was free to reform its government and any Zoanoid that wished to could stay to fight Chronos or face the Guyver. Hence the vaporizing of the HQ buildings. It was a flat out statement of what they would face.

He used the disengagement of the Gigantic to disappear into the night sky, but she knew where he would be going.

* * *

Mitsuki felt conflicted in her heart. She had watched as Sho faced the author of his father's fate and her heart had gone out to him, but she had seen that other girl, Ryuko, comfort him as way more than a friend.

She was glad someone had been there to help him in that moment, but she felt jealously flame as well. She was wearing simple fatigues and while in excellent shape, she had never been as curvy as that girl was.

She shook her head at that. Sho was many things, but it was not simply physical beauty that would have drawn him, so she must understand him or had battled with him through some terrible fights.

"Eh, he is not here yet?" Mitsuki whirled in the small tent to see the very girl she had been thinking on standing behind her with the large pair of red scissors. The odd weapon had been devastating to the Zoanoids, so it was not simply a fashion statement. Her uniform had changed too, back to the sailor version she had seen before.

 _He is likely having to avoid detection, this camp is not revealed in the statements he put out Ryuko._ She heard that strange male voice and saw the eyes of the uniform look around the room as well. It was disturbing to think on it, but it was alive.

Where had Sho been that this was possible?

The blue eyes looked into her darker set and she saw an understanding pass that had both blush.

"I am Ryuko Matoi. Sho helped me and my friends defeat a terrible threat to our Earth called Life Fibers." The proffered hand was almost clasped by her when the words registered. Shock made her eyes go as wide as dinner plates.

"Ryuko, I had hoped to explain that particular thing myself." Both jumped as Sho stood behind them. He looked pale but was steady on his feet. He seemed to look at them both and no longer have guilt in his eyes either.

"I am going to skip over it for now to the harder part." He walked passed them and sat down at the edge of his cot. He looked up at them both and simply seemed to come to a decision. "I love you both more dearly than life itself, but I am not going to simply decide which I 'keep' and which I let go. I made a promise to Satsuki to bring Ryuko home and she deserves to be with her loved ones as well. If you both cannot accept my foolish heart I understand and will live with those consequences."

For being the harder part he seemed to be very confident, but his eyes looked in pain now. He was thinking about what they would say, she was sure of it.

"I have faced death many times and I have faced monsters that would have happily consumed or destroyed the innocent to have their way. I will always be there to protect and help, but I will not simply lie to myself or loved ones for the sake of convenience." Sho then looked right at her and he smiled.

"I was so lost in darkness and pain Mitsuki, but you always treated me as myself. You always brought me back to the light and eventually let me find a way to forgive myself and the Guyver for what I had done. You are what burns in my heart when I begin to lose hope I can never be human." The words bring a deep flush to her but then he turned to Ryuko who seemed to be shuffling her feet a bit.

"Ryuko, you and I walk the same path. We are not monsters but neither are we human anymore. You are part of me and let me be happy with what I am while always being there when i needed you most. I would never have become who I am now without you and Chronos may never have been defeated without me losing myself in the Guyver's power. You are there when I need to remember who I am and I feel normal again." The words brought a deep crimson to the girl's cheeks.

I have said my peace and thank you for that chance. Hate me, hit me, or whatever, but know I have to go out there and get the next phase started before I can try to get Ryuko home." He was almost passed her before anger finally came to her.

"How dare you!" Sho stiffened but did not turn around to them. She felt incensed. "You just blow back into my life and tell me that you love this girl, who clearly loves you back, while still claiming to love me as well? In the same moment you say you will not choose who you 'keep' you also state you will be sending her home! How dare you!"

He did turn then, and she saw it. He had expected this and still just pushed ahead. He was so stubborn and bull headed but he did not understand the depth of her rage.

"I was worried sick while you were gone, worried you were all alone facing the monsters without anyone to keep you sane. I am jealous of Ryuko, but she deserves more than to be brushed out the door as soon as you can work it out!" He had the audacity to simply bomb them and try to push passed it?!

"I promised—" He began to try and fend her off with his palms raised.

"I DON"T CARE! We are not soldiers in this and you are not in charge, we will discuss this now!" Her chest heaved with labored breath as anger made her feel more sure of herself in this moment.

"Segawa, he never betrayed you. I was not easy to get along with and only recently learned what I am. He spoke of you all the time and told us stories about you, your brother, and even pinhead out there." The girl was looking down as she spoke, but her words took the steam out of her anger.

 _Indeed. Even when he desperately felt lonely, he focused on you until that terrifying creature came. It brought death and fear to us all and when he was lost in his fear, Ryuko found him. They did not betray you, they simply felt isolated by what they are and in shared pain and experience found each other._ The uniform was looking right at her and she realized it was truly alive.

"How do you know all that?" She felt tears burning her eyes but it sounded so much like Sho.

 _For the longest time I have felt Sho as I feel Ryuko. I do not know why, only that I do. I feel I would have been happy to have been worn by him if not for his current outfit. Sho and Ryuko are afraid of being left outside, but you, Mako, and so many others remind them of the silly humans they are._ In that moment it clicked. She truly looked at the teary eyed girl and saw something she had missed.

She had the same eyes as Sho since he had been revealed to her as the Guyver. They had a trace of fear, a trace of worry that never truly went away. The was like the Sho!

"Do you really love us Sho?" The words surprised her, but she wanted to know. She looked right at him as the confidence faded and she finally saw the boy she had fallen for.

"Yes, I know that makes me a different kind of monster but—" She stopped him cold with a tight hug. It had been in his eyes. In that moment the fear had faded from his eyes. They had simply been Sho's eyes.

"You will have a lot of detailed explaining to do, but you should be apologizing to Ryuko as well." Confused at first, he looked up and saw the hanging head of the girl. Mitsuki knew she should leave but maybe they both would need her.

* * *

Sho felt numb. He was not sure if he was happy that Mitsuki had not abandoned him, but he no longer felt guilt. Since facing Agito and Balcus, it was like he had lost the ability to simply worry about how he felt.

He was still an idiot though.

"Ryuko, I promised your sister to bring you home. I promised your family, your friends, that you would be safely brought back to them. I didn't want to make this hard on either of us but you need to go home as much as I did." It was hurting to say those words. He wanted so desperately to be back on the Naked Sol deck as they had simply embraced and let the world fall away in that comfort.

He wanted to not be responsible for what he had just set in motion, but the Guyver was needed.

"I know, I did not mean to fall in love with you either but you and Mako wormed your way in there so suddenly. I want to stay so badly, but I want to see them too." It was not something seen often, the softer side of Ryuko usually came with a few fist punches, but she had changed a lot since those early days. They all had.

He looked at Mitsuki and saw she was getting teary eyed again. On impulse he grabbed them both and just let the moment be what it was. They had admitted the truth and realized there were no happily ever afters even when the monsters are defeated.

Once the tears had stopped, and all seemed balanced again, the three parted and left the tent. They had walked a chasm few could, but now it was time to face the world again. And for Sho it was time to rip open the universe one more time.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

Satsuki stood in Junketsu again in Honno Town. The reconstruction and clean up of the Academy was in progress. They had a graduation ceremony to perform still. She let the Elite 4 handle it. She just stared at the air where her sister and the Guyver had gone. It had been a month but there was no sign of their return.

Mankanshoku held faith, but she was losing hers. Had she lost her sister again? Tears had formed once at that thought, but she was slowly getting that under control now. The Life Fiber cleanup by Nudist Beach was going well and she had to consider what to do about Junketsu. Yes, she had to consider a great deal what to do about Junketsu.


	26. Chapter 26 - Promise Made

**Guyver Earth**

It had been far more brutal than Agito thought it would be. The deaths of both Dr Balcus and Archanfel had spread outward from Japan. Chronos was in chaos but not only that, many of the secrets were now out.

Former officials and soldiers had flocked to them and Japan had quickly organized with the help of the Thunderbolts fighting the war.

Zoanoids had split, most of the civilians that had optimized stayed with them, but had been warned of the dangers of a Zoalord's control. Tetsuo's machine had been installed as transmitters and multiple sources as soon as it was possible.

In a mere 2 months things had swerved in their favor, but not easily. There were many corpses of allies and foes that had seemed to blur into a single fight. He had been more careful in extended battles since the last time against Balcus, but even as Guyver III, he saw Sho and his strange ally, Ryuko, fight far beyond expectations.

After a month, it was clear that Fukamachi had mastered the Guyver in so many nuanced ways that he was able to endure it for far longer than before. His use of the Gigantic followed suit as well. The combination of the 2 of them nearly always brought victory.

He also noticed that there was tension between the Segawas and Fukamachi. Mitsuki seemed to be dealing better with it, but Tetsuo himself seemed to be very frustrated and angry about something. Agito could see it all too clearly.

The girl with the strange outfit that could change from a midriff sailor uniform to barely there at all, clearly was close to Fukamachi. Mitsuki was cordial, but there was a coolness that had never been there before.

It was more than odd that Fukamachi was not trying to hide anything either. Even the dullest member of the Thunderbolts knew the girl was only interested in him.

A smirk formed on his face as he relaxed under the noon day sun. If only the regular soldier even knew half the truth about her. Life Fibers would have made the fight against Chronos more even, but Fukamachi was right, the price was too high. In many ways, they would be more dangerous than a Guyver.

Even so, the girl and her kamui had brought victory at a much cheaper price than if only the 2 Guyvers had won this battle. In the 2 months of blood and pain, Japan had been freed.

The coasts and every airport had been fitted with the telepathic jamming devices in short order, they used existing transmitters quite easily. The machine was proving their most valuable asset next to the Guyvers themselves. Without commands or controls, most Zoanoids were quite human in their movements. A great deal were innocent people forced to obey as well.

The remaining 10 Zoalords were still a large threat, but already there were reports of other resistance cells and former allies of the Thunderbolts popping up all over the world. Japan had lit the way for humanity to reclaim its world.

A part of him was still frustrated how much credit Fukamachi was getting, but it was mollified by how his fellow Guyver kept his word. He gave orders to the Thunderbolts in battle, but deferred overall command to him still.

Their fight was never spoken of and Ryuko even offered to fight him to help improve his abilities sometime. She was a spitfire a lot of the time, but she often seemed to be looking up at the stars between fights.

Now, Fukamachi was practicing something with her and they seemed to have run into a dead end with it.

* * *

Ryuko felt tired but nothing compared to Sho. He was drenched in sweat as he lay in the grass under the sun. They had been pushing hard, but it was like they could not do it again.

Now that Japan was free, Sho had focused on his promise to get her home. She felt a bit of nervousness there, because so long as they were fighting, it was easy to put off thinking about not being able to pull this off.

The ruins of the shed had been cleaned up quite a bit, but no more than that. The devastation from the fight with Archanfel still left burns in all directions. That cheeky other Guyver was sitting under a tree on the far hill watching them too.

Sho had been using the Gigantic to try and re-open the Rift, but to no effect. It had been so simple to open the thing before, he had been certain they could do it again.

Sadly, no matter how much output she gave Senketsu, they could not seem to open one. She was beginning to feel the nervousness turn to fear, the real fear she would never see Satsuki, Mako, or anyone again. She did not feel too badly about not seeing the crazy Mikisugi, but he had helped her a lot as well.

"There has to be a way, something to push open that Rift again," Sho was heaving as he said it, but he was clearly done for the day. He had been channeling the Gigantic and her energies once again, but to no avail. He did not even seem to find a crack in the air where the Rift had once been.

He was also unusually busy trying to find it. She had not been truly alone with him save on the battlefield, even now the other Guyver and the woman Shizu were with them if only on the hill. She knew he had had a huge fight with Tetsuo as well shortly after the briefing on her Earth and his time there.

 _You are not held to blame Ryuko. The siblings were discussing you when I was drying out one day and both agreed you are blameless._ She blushed at the blunt spying Senketsu had done, but the people here did not totally understand how he worked.

"I still mucked things up a bit, but now I may be stuck here. Thankfully I have you to keep me company." She felt the surge of warmth that was happiness from Senketsu.

"That's it!" Sho suddenly got up and began to jog towards the camp up on the far hill. It was nothing crazy, just a few tents, but it had everything.

 _It would appear he might have an idea Ryuko._ The slight twinge of exasperation she more than mirrored. To her and Senketsu, it was becoming pointless. Still, her eyes lingered on the shrinking form of Sho. She shook herself and got up to follow him and hear about this idea.

* * *

Tetsuo had never been more busy in his life than the last 2 months. The creation of the jamming machine had been a gamble and a hope in one. The telepathic commands and domination of a Zoalord was the true power of Chronos in many ways.

Thanks to the study of the Guyvers and even his time at Relics Point, he had begun to have a theory that it could be done. The fact that the crystals could resonate was how he had reverse engineered what to look for.

The rest was plain old jamming from military and civilian files.

Now he was simply burying himself in paperwork, or any work really, to keep his temper clamped down. Natsuki had stopped by and had brightened his day, but truly she did not know what was bothering him.

 _I love them both Tetsuo. I am not choosing nor forcing anything and I expect even less. Mitsuki has already torn into me but it will not stop how I feel._ The words burned even months after hearing them.

Mitsuki was right that Ryuko was not guilty in this. Nothing had happened actually beyond admission of feelings from what he was told, but it made him mad. He wanted to hit things sometimes it made him that mad.

How could Sho be so selfish?!

The words made no sense in front of him now, and even what he had typed up was pretty much gibberish. He needed a break.

The building in Tokyo had been leant to the Thunderbolts for the express purpose of a point of contact and now as a hub of monitoring for any breach in the jamming net. The waves were not constantly broadcast as Chronos might suspect, but oscillating.

In other words, an invading force could suddenly find itself cut off without orders or become themselves again. Sadly, far too many of the current Zoanoid forces were willing participants, but thus far it had worked to snag away even more strength from the Zoalords.

This tactic had made them wary and the Guyvers were always ready for attacks. They also had a new unit being trained from the Zoanoids that had stayed and could attack from long range. There were dangers, but Sho was insistent and in that he agreed with him at least.

The water cooler was too damn far as well as the coffee maker, but the command room had far too many electronics to risk a spill.

He saw Sho then. He was pacing back and forth and mumbling about something. The furtive look and worry on his face almost made it impossible not to see the burdens riding his shoulders now.

Before it had been about survival and holding on to what he could, but now Tetsuo saw all of it, all of Japan, riding on his shoulders. It had to be getting quite heavy.

Pity finally broke a bit of the anger as he realized why Sho would not back off how he felt. How many months after he came back with the Gigantic and he had been found staring out about his father? Sho knew death hung over them all more than any other time and had not left regrets behind him anymore. Could Fumio Fukamachi have been saved if Tetsuo had pressured Sho into telling his father the truth?

Even so, he was still angry. So he kept walking to his goal and did not wave or draw attention.

"If it pushes it to the limit and nothing happens, I could be killed. Maybe it will just be like before and feel like I am being ripped apart again….or possibly…" The mumbling words finally got to him and he froze. He knew what Sho was pondering. He knew what he had been trying to do for a solid week now.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" The paper cup of water splashed liquid all over him as he crushed it and charged his friend. The round eyes and jump back into the wall was almost comical but Tetsuo would not be derailed.

"You want to try and replicate the conditions of what nearly killed you before?!" It was theoretically possible, but the unknowns were incalculable. There was no way to know if it could even be repeated.

"I just—I just want to get her home Tetsuo. I want her to be with her family and friends and I want to have her avoid feeling sick or guilt about enjoying things here when people might think she is dead." The forlorn tone cracked it finally. Tetsuo suddenly realized Sho was not just talking about Ryuko, but about himself.

"You felt guilt having fun?" Tetsuo saw the flinch and flash of a pain in his friend's eyes. Suddenly the words from the report took on a new meaning to him. They were not just an explanation of what had happened to Sho, but that he was trying to cope with all that had happened.

They had been worrying and fighting Chronos, while he had faced not just Zoanoids, but this Life Fibers and the forces of humans allied against him and Ryuko. In all that report there was zero mention of what he did during peace time.

"Talk to me Sho, tell me what you left out of that report." He had talked with him about Ryuko and his feelings but the flush to his friend was not embarrassment, but nervousness. They returned to the command hub where Tetsuo could monitor equipment still but then he let Sho talk.

He heard about getting into Honnouji Academy and the simple school life with occasional strange instances that he held back. How the Guyver had become a protector of the 'No-Stars." He heard about the Mankanshokus and how Mako made his life both bearable and fun. Her antics sounded crazy, but a ghost of a smile graced Sho's face as he relayed some of them.

He also heard about the changes that occurred after Ryuko arrived. Tetsuo suddenly gripped the edge of the wooden desk and felt a tiny splinter pierce his thumb but he did not flinch. Sho had been battling with insane powers and even the Gigantic was only enough to cow them, not stop them.

He had found the threat to that world he had already covered in the debriefing after many battles and even being captured. He revealed a dream of Mitsuki suddenly made him summon the Guyver and escape to find Ryuko had been stripped of her kamui. Sho kept talking and Tetsuo found his anger fading away.

Mitsuki must have seen this or trusted some instinct that Sho had not betrayed her and as the story wound down to the final battles against Archanfel and Ragyo, Tetsuo suddenly understood. Ryuko was like Sho. They were both human and not human. They had been suddenly, and violently, thrown against insane powers and had to learn as they go with that they had to fight with.

As Sho had to ready himself to fight Archanfel, he had no one to turn to, so he thought. He had simply been focusing on helping Ryuko, and that was pure Sho, and in the process had forged a relationship that few could understand.

"Why are you looking at me like that Tetsuo?" Sho had been quiet for a few minutes and waiting. Shaking his head and pulling his glasses, he gathered his thoughts.

"I am thinking Mitsuki is a better person than me for starters. You told her right off and did not hide from the consequences, although I understand you were quite stupid about it." A small shared smile passed between them. Saying Sho was not quite adept at intimacy was an understatement. "Now that I have all this though, I am not angry anymore."

He saw surprise bloom and shook his head at his foolish friend. It would have been insane to _not_ connect with someone in that situation and that Sho had not been alone all that time was a consolation.

"Stop feeling guilty about being human Sho, you did not betray anyone and you simply formed bonds like we did over the battle with Chronos. I am glad you found some rest and new friends, but I am still a bit miffed about loving 2 women thing." The crest fallen face was hard to take, but Tetsuo would not let him off the hook entirely.

"Even so, you are insane. We cannot replicate that Zoanoids ability and even when I took readings—" A light went off. Tetsuo began furiously typing into his terminal and brought up the old files when they had been desperately searching for Sho. He only prayed Balcus was as detailed as he was.

Once he had what he wanted, he brought up the files from Chronos Japan HQ. It had taken a team of techs a month to sort it out, but now that it was filed, he quickly found what he was looking for!

"Sho, we may not be able to replicate everything, but I think we can try something." He moved over and let Sho look over the two charts he had up. It was the missing piece they had been overlooking for 2 months.

Sho suddenly grinned widely and seemed to think of something.

"I got it Tetsuo, I know what to do!" A crushing hug was barely registered before Sho breezed out of the room. He shook his head at the quick turn of events, but glad he had been able to understand his friend again.

* * *

"You are insane Fukamachi." Agito stood crossed arms across his chest as the proposal was outlined to him.

"But we never thought about it before, about why I was able to make a Rift or move across the world in an instant. What if I just need a reference point, a connection to know where I am starting from and then focus on where I want to go." The dark eyes were not fevered now, they were certain. This was not some simple idea, but Fukamachi was overlooking something.

"And just how will you get back this time? According to you, it took both of you to do it." Agito smirked, thinking he had won the battle.

"I was exhausted then, we both were, and only together could we pull it off. I will be fully rested and able to come back with you as the anchor." It would seem he had thought it through. The part about them both being exhausted was hard for Agito to believe as they had fought and killed Archanfel over a considerable battle.

Still, if it worked, the process could be repeated could it not? They could potentially reach other worlds with the Gigantic and bring resources to this fight.

"No." He blinked his eyes as he pulled his hand away from his chin. He had not said a word but Fukamachi now stood resolute in front of him in his room. The bright steel walls were simply adorned and the bed was more cot than a true mattress, but it was what he preferred. Right now it seemed too small.

"I can read your face Makishima, I can tell exactly what you just thought. Trust me, we cannot open Chronos to other worlds and we have no idea what might come back with me if I did that either." Smirking that the boy had seemingly become a man in a short time, Agito changed tactics.

"Then you will simply say good bye to the woman you love?" It was not meant purely as a barb, just an observation.

The target hit home as pain was in his eyes briefly, but then Fukamachi became confident again.

"If I could, I would like to see her again someday, but that is not possible nor responsible. I have no idea what has happened on her world, but they have a long way to go to clean up the mess of Life Fibers. We have our own battle here, and both could take a lifetime. I will not deny I love her, but I will not deny her her home either." Agito was curious. Sho Fukamachi had been a weak willed and barely passable ally as Guyver I. His soft hearted approach and focus on the Segawas had left him open to many attacks. It had been easy to play on the strings and guide him at times but after Enzyme II and his regaining the ability to Bio-Boost, it had changed.

Gone was the boy, although he occasionally resurfaced, but in his place was a man that had faced battles and monsters. He had come through the fire as steel but not with ambition. A part of him envied that as it seemed to be working for him

Agito could see the changes that Fukamachi seemed to just adapt to without comment. The Thunderbolts had been impressed with him since his return and many approved what he had done and was doing.

It was not hard to see that if he wanted to, Fukamachi could have truly taken over not just the organization, but possibly Japan. Instead he had stayed out of the politics and made it clear he would protect humanity, in whatever form it took, with the Guyver.

This had the unintended effect, it seemed to him, of people supporting the Thunderbolts openly and the rudimentary government that had begun to form, made it clear they supported them as well. That last part was going to be a thorn in their side if they were not careful, but the sheer power of the Guyvers kept them in check for now.

Now he seemed to have no issue proclaiming that he held feelings for 2 different women and accepted the consequences. Thus far a peace had been proclaimed, but he doubted it would hold if they could not return Ryuko to her Earth.

"Fine Fukamachi, I will help with this next attempt. If it fails however, we shall have a very long discussion about the future of Ryuko Matoi." For a moment Agito felt a shift in the air. The eyes of the boy were gone, and even the confident leader vanished. In their place he saw something probably many Zoanoids had seen. He saw the monster staring back at him that would unleash its fury to protect its own.

The chill passed and Fukamachi nodded at last, but for just that moment, Agito appreciated the full changes that had come over the boy he once knew.

* * *

Sho felt nervous now. Both Tetsuo and Mitsuki stood on the hill on the windy but sunny day. It seemed like a day for a picnic or a game outside than manipulation dimensions, but Makishima stood patiently as Guyver III and Ryuko was Synchronized with Senketsu.

There were devices with dishes pointed at them, as well as several other Thunderbolts. It was as if the rumors had spread and those that had seen Ryuko fight and knew the truth, had come to see her off. The sweat on his palms made everything feel slick but he saw the steel blue of Ryuko's eyes look at him.

He felt a calm enter his heart and then looked up the hill to Mitsuki. She was holding her hands in front of her as if in prayer. For a moment he wanted to ask what she prayed for, but thought better of it. It was passed time to summon the Gigantic.

"GIGANTIC!" The world distorted as both armors closed over him. Always before he had tried to replicate the trip home, but this time he cast his memory back to everything. He firmly pictured his Earth and Ryuko's Earth.

"Come on Guyver, open the door." He said the words out of habit but he felt Agito next to him and strongly focused on him. The Control metal could visibly be seen to glow blue and he felt something.

It was just at the edge of his senses, but there was a _something_ just there. He looked right at the ruins of the building and felt an instinct in the Guyver. Both his arms rose and the hands centered in a triangle before his vision.

He felt Ryuko's power with Senketsu spike and latched onto that as well. He was guiding their energies now and it was not like when Void attacked or the trip home. It was as if the world was an onion and he now knew how to see each layer.

The air began to vibrate and the wind instantly began to swirl around them. It was getting stronger, the image in his mind. It was getting so much clearer. It was not about power, but about application here. It was just like all the lessons he had learned, to nuance his control of the Guyver.

The delicate energies began to coalesce and for a moment, Sho felt he understood something important about the Creators and the world. It was gone, but maybe one day he could remember it.

The air suddenly became violently windy as grass seemed to flatten in all directions and trees swayed dangerously that had not been burned down by Agito or Archanfel.

Finally he reached out with his fingers and parted the sensation he had felt, a weakness in dimensions. The air rippled in a very familiar way and before he thought too much, he scooped up Ryuko and walked through the Rift once more. She was going home!

* * *

Tetsuo was stunned. It had been like a storm one moment, and then it all calmed as the Gigantic and Ryuko seemed to vanish into midair. Agito was on his knees and heaving but he could hear laughter too.

No doubt this success would mean future trips, but considering the power needed required a 3rd person, it was highly unlikely to happen again. That thought suddenly sobered him up as he heard crying.

He understood suddenly that Ryuko and Sho would never meet again and Mitsuki had known. She had known and dealt with the revelation of Sho's feelings. He had never forgotten his home or Mitsuki, but he was only human. What would he have done, trapped on a different world for more than a year and no way home? Would Natsuki have stayed in his heart, or would he have dealt with the hand he had and moved on?

The last of his anger vanished as Tetsuo saw how Sho had dealt with it. He had no doubt wrestled with his guilt and then had to face the worst Chronos and these Life Fibers could offer. He had no doubt there were stories both had held back because of the wounds they left. They were the same, so similar it stunned him to have not been more understanding. They needed their loved ones to keep them here on Earth.

Tears trailed down his face as he realized both Ryuko and Sho knew their love while valid and true, could never be. They were literally on their last journey and could never come together again.

He quietly embraced his sister and they mourned the pain their long time friend would feel. It would be a long road for Mitsuki and Sho to find their footing again, but it was worth it to them both now. Sho needed them more than ever before.

* * *

 **Somewhere Between**

Senketsu felt pain again. It had been bad the first time, but this time it was worse. Without more Life Fibers to heal himself, even with Ryuko's own, he knew he was reaching a limit. The Gigantic was shielding them more this time and it was easier, but he knew he would be falling apart soon.

He had told neither of them of the danger as normal use had not bothered him at all. Now he gritted against the pain of being torn into by the energies around him and protected Ryuko. He could feel them both so clearly here, so much pain and repression of what they felt.

Humans are foolish sometimes, but in this instance he could not fault his 2 closest friends. They had found a person that understood their unique pain better than any words ever could, but neither could accept the next step because eventually this step would come. The goodbye.

Sighing that he was feeling old, he felt the shift back to reality as his threads began to burn.


	27. Chapter 27 - Promise Kept

**Kill La Kill Earth**

It had been a little over 2 months to clean up enough of the damage from the final battle with Ragyo and the Original Life Fiber to allow the closing ceremonies of Honnouji Academy. Satsuki and the Elite 4, with some help from Nudist Beach, felt it important to close out the school that had saved the world.

Satsuki herself had offered up Junketsu for final destruction to Inori and the Sewing Club. Any remaining uniform not absorbed by Ryuko had been destroyed. The Fibers throughout the world remained dormant and harmless now that Shinra Koketsu had been destroyed by the Guyver Gigantic.

All remained fairly quiet on mention of either Fukamachi or Ryuko. Satsuki had become colder again, but now instead of an iron will, it almost was like she was going through the motions. She stuck to her plans, but did not have the fire she once held. Even the Elite 4 found it hard to look into her eyes.

They were full of nothing. The light of life was gone.

The first month she had been fiery and relentless, even using Junketsu to help with the beginning of the clean up, but later it was like some spark went out. Even Mako seemed like her too.

The usually rambunctious girl was seen looking out to the slums of Honno Town whenever anyone saw her, but she would try to smile for her family and Gammagorri could still get her to act up. Most agreed she was taking it better than Satsuki.

Still, the oddity was often that they could be found where the Rift closed, standing quietly and looking for the ripple of air that had vanished the day the Guyver and Ryuko left.

Now, as the graduation day had finally come, as well as the decommission day of Honnouji Academy, both seemed a bit empty.

* * *

She felt nothing. She wanted to be angry, despondent, or even frustrated, but this empty feeling in her chest dominated it all. Sanageyama had challenged her once again, but her fighting spirit would not answer. He had easily bested her. Her steel blue eyes were now looking at the empty halls and devastated interior that had been the tower.

She saw the memories of all that had come before, but not even a ghost of a smile graced her hard face. The simple clothes of command donned her now. No Life Fibers in them, but very similar in design to the Sailor Mode of Junketsu. She had grown used to it. The dual blades of her Bakuzan were on her hips, but aside from that change, it was the same.

She felt a difference in the air suddenly, old instincts warning her.

"So you have come at last." She turned the high backed chair to see her uninvited guest staring down at her. She had not expected the 5 shadows behind them.

* * *

"Mikisugi, what are you doing here?" Nonon was as impertinent as ever with her defiant stance and simple track suit for the preparations for today. Still the frumpy look was not normal for the Nudist Beach commander. She did not mind he was dressed decently he could clearly see in her eyes.

"I am still a teacher here, technically, and I felt I had to be here." The simple statement was true. He wanted to be here for today and to be here for those that might need him. A small voice inside hoped for a miracle too, but he kept that tamped down.

"Well so long as you are here for that it is fi—" The world exploded as the gathering students were all rocked to their backsides by the ground moving beneath their feet!

"You pigs in clothing think this is the end of Honnouji Academy, but it is only the beginning!" Satsuki's voice boomed from the top, but it was not quite the correct appearance. She was wearing Junketsu, a version that was dark, but definitely the kamui.

"I thought that was destroyed!" Nonon was quick to recover to her feet, but before Mikisugi could respond he saw something shocking.

"We, the Elite 4, will uphold our President's command!" The Elite 4, the ones that had 3-Star Goku uniforms, stood at the base of the tower!

"It would seem something odd is going on, fortunately I came prepared." A remote control was in his hand with a wide smile as he swooped his frumpy hair back and the buttons on his shirt seemed to answer a telepathic command to fly apart. The slight frown on Nonon reminded him of Ryuko's reactions, but no time for memories.

The remote summoned the carrier with his new DTR and ones he had made for the Elite 4 they never got the chance to use. The 4 individuals near him clearly were unimpressed, but without Life Fibers, nor Ryuko or the real Satsuki, they had no choice.

"Don't expect me to strip to use this thing." Nonon grumbled as she was helped up into hers shaped like a heart. The smile died on Mikisugi's face as the power of Life Fibers began to rip into the crowd. He also noticed that the walls were starting to rise.

"It would seem someone has activated the final option for Honnouji Academy." Inumuta pushed his glasses up as he looked at the walls that were suddenly looking a lot like arms.

"This will be a tough battle enough as it is, tsk, where is that woman when we need her." Mikisugi was letting his frustration through, but as he thought about it, he suddenly realized that no one in the crowd was Mako. She should have stood out a mile in this chaos, but she was not there.

He distinctly remembered her coming here ahead of him on the trolley, so where was she?

* * *

Hoomaru smiled at the chaos. The 5 creations were echoes of the people they represented, but they were more than powerful enough. Lady Ragyo would be avenged and then the Spaceseed Cocoon could be completed. They would all pay!

"So, this is what you have done with all the Life Fibers you could get? You have activated the final weapon of Honnouji Academy?" The traitorous woman dared to ask questions?! She turned her face to her 2 generators, Mankanshoku and Satsuki. They were the most powerful people for what she needed.

"When I am done, your precious students will be defeated and then the world will become what Lady Ragyo intended it to be!" Her voice nearly became hysterical towards the end, and her sunglasses nearly flew off her nose as she swirled back to the monitors. This was how things should be!

* * *

People fled from the now massive figure at the top of the hill. Honnouji Academy had risen up as a titan and there was clearly battle happening there once again. Mataro wanted to get to his sister, but the mass of people drove him to Honno Town slums even deeper.

The small boy could not overcome the flood and ended up somewhere he did not want to be. It was where his friends had vanished from the world and never returned.

The area had been cleared out by the Elite 4, partially due to danger, and because they did not want to risk anyone else. They also wanted Satsuki to have private moments here if she wished. He had found both his sister and that woman here more than once with looks on their faces he did not like at all.

There was nothing he could do to change them. He had even tried lifting a wallet or two to incur his sister's wrath, but nothing happened.

Now he stood in the burned out ruins that still stood from the many battles and felt helpless once again. He wanted to have the power to go up there and fight that monster and whatever else was up there. He wanted Ryuko to come back and make it all right again!

The day had been somewhat windy but now it was just howling as well. His tears seared onto his cheeks and he just balled his fists up and wished for something to happen!

The world suddenly tilted for him as he was bowled over and was about to end with a sharp rebar pole piercing him when he felt someone snag him from behind.

"You just can't stay out of trouble can you?" The world stopped for him. The whole of the disaster at the top of the hill did not matter as he was put down and turned to see a miracle.

"Are you all right Mataro?" The distorted voice of Sho as he towered in the Gigantic and Ryuko in her sexy mode of kamui blurred before him. Tears flowed and he just pointed up the hill.

"Go save the world!" Both looked up and sighed tiredly but Ryuko smiled with her blue eyes at him and patted his hair gently.

"Let's go Ryuko, one more battle!" They both took to the skies and he was smiling. It was really a brighter day now.

He was looking up at the 2 figures when the frayed red threads fell in front of him. He knew Life Fibers on sight, but these were dead and damaged. What had they come from?

New tears welled up as he saw a few more of them where Ryuko had been standing. Something was wrong with Senketsu!

* * *

The giant machine lorded over the devastation of the fake Elite 4 and the kamui empowered fake Satsuki. Although the DTRs had held up, the Life Fibers were far more resilient than the machines. The other students were without any Goku uniforms and regular humans never could stand up to even a 1-Star.

"This is not working, and even if we can beat them, there is that!" Sanageyama was doing better than most against their copies, but Mikisugi saw his point. The arms had split and become 4 to a side and positioned above them directly as the battle progressed. It was clear as day that they would drop on top of them if they did not stop it, but there was no time to damage it!

"Attention fools of Honnouji Academy! You thought you could defy the power of Life Fibers, but all you did was delay the inevitable!" The far more confident voice of Satsuki would have been welcomed be even him, but the dark copy looked at them as Lady President Satsuki once did on the masses of students.

There was no mercy there and then the shadow of the arms darkened the sky and Mikisugi knew they were dead. The DTRs could not get passed the copies, nor stand up to the massive fists coming at them.

He looked defiantly up at their impending doom and hoped his comrades in Nudist Beach could stop this from starting up again beyond Japan.

The world was suddenly blinded by swirling dust and massive thuds came from all around him. Coughing and wondering how they were alive as he heard the coughs of the others, the sound of a hum came to his ears.

He also heard sounds of shock and shredding cloth. As his eyes cleared, he saw something impossible in the dust cloud. At first, he thought the copy of Satsuki had come to finish them, but the angle of the shoulders was wrong, and this figure was holding something that looked larger than a sword.

"Honestly, I go away for 2 months and someone tries to undo all our hard work. I wanted a nice relaxing return, eh Senketsu?" The cloud of dust finally cleared to reveal the miracle that saved them once again.

The Gigantic shield had stoped all 8 fists cold as Ryuko had sliced up the fake copies of the Elite 4.

"Ryuko!" Tears not caused by dust came from him and he saw a few tears and smiles from the people with in the shield. The fake Satsuki stood with her jaw open and the battlefield frozen.

"I will handle this thing if you take care of her Ryuko." Sho's voice was equally welcome and he saw the two move as if of one mind. They moved without any further contact as gravity blasts blew the 8 arms back from the shield.

* * *

Hoomaru felt numb. The Elite 4 had been wiped out in an instant and now the Gigantic was slicing up the arms of her fortress. Matoi was also there with her kamui and easily besting the copy of Satsuki.

Laughter, full throated laughter, echoed around the chamber as more and more alerts came through the console. Hoomaru turned up to find the smiling face of Mako and even Satsuki seemed to be smiling as she laughed loud and long.

Before, both of them had been resistant to her kidnap efforts but they had not put up as much fight as she expected. Now, fire burned in their eyes even as the restraints held them to the core of the Academy.

"It would seem your ultimate plans have hit a familiar snag Hoomaru, what will you do now?" The raven haired beauty looked down on her, but the room shook as the Gigantic continued its attack. The confidence and pride shone from her pale face and blue eyes again.

The smile crept up on Hoomaru's face. Although it was a 50/50 shot to work, Satsuki forgets the efficiency of her subordinates during her time at Honnouji Academy.

"I have a backup plan then _Lady_ Satsuki. A proof of concept assisted by your ideas." The control panel was screaming at this point, but Hoomaru flipped the only dark switch. A door opened to her right and a figure began to walk out with heavy footfalls.

The shock on their faces brought her a grim joy, but she knew time was a major factor.

"Go, destroy the Guyver and Matoi!" The figure nodded and then leapt up to the ceiling with a speed only Life Fibers could give. In this case it was not just Life Fibers.

* * *

Sho had been worried the structure would resist his attacks. Instead it was just normal steel and armor that his blades easily cut through. His gravity blasts had mangled the hands and now it was essentially just the main body remaining. The problem was he could not drop the structure back to the ground until the evacuation was complete.

Mikisugi and the Elite 4 were quickly getting the students and families away from this battle, but it was taking time. Ryuko was dealing with the odd existence that was a fake Satsuki and Junketsu, but again, it had the skills to stand up to her. He also seemed to think her moves more sluggish than normal as well.

His orbs had been keeping an eye on all the appendages until now, but as he refocused on the main body, he felt a change. It was a feeling in the air that he was familiar with, but it was not a Zoanoid nor any other Life Fiber copy.

He floated above the battle and tried to find the source that had put his instincts on edge. The milling bodies fleeing to the docks and bridge were fine and nothing was up with him, but a shadow was there. Somewhere, a threat was looming, but he could not seem to pin it down.

What could be moving so fast the Gigantic could not find it?

For just a second the sun pierced the clouds kicked up by the battles and a glint caught his eyes. He looked directly at it and nearly fell out of the sky.

It was not possible, it could not be possible. That did not exist here!

"Guyver!" The figure cried out and all froze. It was a voice all knew well, but the Gigantic still floated in the sky. The dust settled and all felt shock at what it revealed.

A figure stood on the bent knee of one of the legs of the Academy, a figure all knew very well, but like with the Elite 4 and Satsuki, it was colored wrong.

The Guyver stood there, pulsing red and black with blades extended and his arms raised at the Gigantic. Sho felt numb looking at the copy of him as Guyver I. It should not be possible, not even remotely possible, that Life Fibers could mimic the Guyver.

"Fukamachi! We took samples from you as the Guyver and the growths on your back!" Inumuta's voice called out over the grounds and a horrifying thing popped into Sho's head. The Guyver optimizes an organism it bonds with and the Life Fibers enhance an organism they feed on.

If the 2 have been brought to gather, what power would be unlocked? Could even a Life Fiber Copy endure that?

The figure vanished in a blur he could not follow, but it took no great leap of logic. He felt the world blur as he pushed the Gigantic to full speed. It was nauseating, but he knew where it was going.

* * *

Ryuko could not believe what she was seeing. One moment a fake Guyver had been up on the Academy, but then it vanished. She only had a moment to see the fake Satsuki smile before she saw the blur closing in on her!

"Damn! Let's go Senketsu!" She went to bring her Scissor up, but it was like her limbs had become lead. In fact she felt like she had been fighting through quicksand after defeating the Elite 4 so easily.

 _I am sorry Ryuko. It is too hard to keep going for me. The new Life Fibers did not help me as much as I hoped. I am sorry._ Senketsu sounded exhausted, but worse she felt pain through their connection. He had been pushing himself while in that much pain?

There was no more time as the blur was nearly there and she could not even dodge!

At the last moment a shadow passed in front of her and blood exploded everywhere on her. She was able to move her arms suddenly and cleared her vision. She saw she was back in Sailor Mode and Senketsu was drenched in blood, but it was not hers.

Her eyes wide, she looked up to see both the fake Guyver and Satsuki had their blades pierced through the Gigantic! Blood flowed like a river down his back, but it still stood.

"Sho—" She saw him raise his hand and then the world distorted around him. The fake Satsuki screamed in pain as she was shredded from the gravity attack, but the fake Guyver seemed able to withstand it. Before another attack was brought to bear, it backed off and vanished into the dusty battlefield.

"Senketsu are you all right?" Blood was coming from the breath vents, but Sho did not seem to even pause to talk about it.

 _No, the trip to your world and back has damaged my Fibers. I tried to absorb the ones around, but it is not helping. I feel so tired Sho. I am sorry._ Fear began to trickle into her heart at the lack of feeling Senketsu and barely hearing him.

"I wish I could help you, but both of you get out of here. I will deal with this…thing…on my own." There was a note of fear in Sho's voice too, but also anger. She was not sure why he was angry, but without Senketsu, facing a Guyver was suicide.

Like hell she was going to retreat though. Keeping Sho between her and the fake Guyver, she made her way to the now silent Academy.

* * *

It had the speed of a basic Guyver, but there was definitely no control metal. There was no sign of it being consumed by whatever they had taken from the unit whenever they had gotten it. The Life Fibers must be regulating the power somehow, but there had to be a limit. It was not attacking constantly and it was not speaking like the other copies.

It blurred again, but this time the Gigantic tracked it and he shifted to get ahead of it, only to find it flying over him.

It was trying to gauge his strength, but Sho was not sure. Aside from the blades and speed, it had not shown any other weapons. He fervently hoped it would not have a megasmasher.

It again dashed off, but the Gigantic kept pace, making more dust clouds. The purpose was lost to Sho, but he did not doubt it could think. It terrified him to wonder what the human component was, but there was no time. He had to end this.

Head beams and gravity attacks went out, but it dodged as expected back up into the air. With a thought, Sho pushed the Gigantic to maximum speed and finally seemed like he would slice this copy in half.

Beyond any ability of a human, the fake Guyver bent in half as the vibrating blade sliced where its chest had been a moment before.

Everything suddenly clicked for Sho. It was not human at all, it was merely a mix of Life Fibers and his Guyver unit. It was hollow!

This gave him the only option he had left. Once again, he unleashed multiple attacks and drove the fake Guyver up into the air. This time he faked an attack and as it bent in half he turned on the shield.

The sphere hummed around them both and the fake just stared at him. It was a soulless thing with enough power to kill far too many and no thought but to attack once unleashed. He knew EXACTLY what this was.

This is what his father had faced, and the Zoanoids when he had first resurrected. This is what he became if his brain was damaged. It was horrifying and it he never wanted anyone to see it again!

Focusing on his vibration spheres, he made the whole sphere a death trap. The Gigantic was taking damage as well, but the fake began to finally make a noise. It was horrible and pathetic. It was screaming as the Guyver and Life Fibers were torn apart.

Finally the Guyver part of it went out of control and subsumed the Life Fibers before finally becoming just so much organic slag.

It had neither begged nor fought, it simply did not understand what was happening. Without the control metal or a human to guide it, the Guyver was a simple parasite. A flash of pity went through Sho, but then anger. He was angry that anyone had even tried to do this.

The shield snapped off and he looked up at the 'eyes' of the academy. This had to stop!

* * *

Hoomaru felt numb. The screens showed nothing but defeat and now the Gigantic was looking up at the control hub. She felt it, the anger of the Guyver. A whimper left her as she began to understand what was coming.

The sudden clanging of metal had her whirl around to find a smiling Satsuki and Matoi looking at her as the latter held a passed out Mankanshoku. The kamui seemed like it was barely holding together, but even its eyes looked at her.

"I would suggest we all get out of here, as I think Sho is about to have a therapeutic session in a moment." The smug girl smiled wide as the screens began to vibrated colors. Paling, Hoomaru saw the Gigasmasher was building up as they sat there!

All four ran from the control room and down the steps. Just when she thought she might slip away, the whole of the area behind them vanished in blinding light and the stairwell came loose from the walls!

Darkness below closed in until the last moment when an iron grip clasped her arm, followed by 2 more arms. She looked up to see the three she had just threatened pulling her back up. It was Lady Satsuki that held her, and the look in her eyes at that moment was very much like Lady Ragyo.

"It is not too late to walk a different path Hoomaru. For all of us." They pulled her up onto the remains of the only part of the stair well that lead to the base door. The shivers of the building were getting more violent and they could hear the Gigantic blasting it apart.

"He is not screwing around." The worry in Matoi's voice caused all to look at her, but they had no more time.

The four of them rushed into daylight to find Mikisugi waiting for them with a smile and little else.

* * *

Ryuko was crushed in a group hug by the Mankanshokus. Their boat was heading away from the collapsing island that had been her home for what seemed far longer than over a year. All of Honnouji Academy and Honno Town was sinking into the water.

Over it all was the Gigantic hovering in the air. She wondered how angry he had become at the fake Guyver, but she was feeling a sadness creeping in as Senketsu had been quiet a long time now. He had been getting stiffer to move in, but once reverted to the Sailor uniform mode it was fine.

"Ryuko! What is wrong with Senketsu's threads?" Mako grasped the left sleeve and showed it was fraying apart right before their eyes.

"Senketsu!" Ryuko felt tears well up as she realized she could no longer even feel the kamui.

"Senketsu can you hear me?" They all looked up to see the simpler form of the Guyver hovering over them. For a moment it seemed like the kamui was falling apart even faster then it slowed at last.

 _Yes, I can hear you. I am very tired now Ryuko, Sho. I think we have come farther than Dr Matoi ever intended, but it was a great deal of fun._ His eyes opened tiredly and looked up at them both. Ryuko felt like a piece of her heart was in her throat. After all that had happened, all they had learned, she was losing her closest friend.

"You can't go, please, not now." Ryuko felt Mako hold her from behind and Sho landed on their boat. He reached out and she felt a gentle vibration.

 _Ahhhh. Thank you Sho, that feels better, but it is time for me to go. The Life Fibers are defeated and the Zoanoids have been dealt a blow. It is up to you two now to move forward. I believe in you both. Thank you._ As he spoke, the threads began to unwind slower than before, but still falling apart.

Sho modulated the vibration to slow it more, but it would not stop.

Ryuko felt the lapel reach up and brush away her tears as the remaining cloth squeezed her gently.

Finally she was sitting in only her underwear in tears as again the Mankanshokus embraced her. From somewhere, Mako produced a blanket to cover her. Senketsu was gone, the last red threads seemed to fall apart completely on the breeze.

Her world was just complete and now it was shattered again. Nothing could make it better again.

"Ryuko, he is always with you. They are all, always with you." She looked up with her watery blue eyes into the dark eyes of Sho. For a moment she completely understood him again. She saw all the horror of the 2 months of fighting on his world and all she had learned. She remembered her father dying in front of her and realizing that the memories were bright and clear. She would be hurt for a long time, and never truly be as it was, but she would be able to move forward to smile again.

Mako smiled down at her and hugged her tightly as the waves shook the boat. Suddenly the smirk vanished as she looked at Sho and she understood. He was leaving forever.

She flung the cover aside and crushed him in a hug as more tears flowed. She also felt his arms encircle her and a few wet drops fall on top of her head.

"It is time for me to go. The other Zoalords could attack at any time and the Gigantic is needed." She felt his arms tighten instead of loosen and she felt the thud of his heart race beneath his chest.

"You can never come back can you?" She whispered the words but she knew they were true. The power of the Gigantic was enough for an open Rift, but to create one took massive power. He could never return.

"It was an amazing ride and more than anything I believed possible. Finding you Ryuko was nothing I expected, but we both have worlds to take care of. Your fight is over, mine continues." She felt one more tightening and then he pushed back to look directly into her faces with a few tears in his eyes. "I will never forget you."

He stepped back and looked at them all. Ryuko wanted so badly to hold onto him, but a flash of her new friend came to her mind. Mitsuki had been jealous at first, but then they had hit it off quite by accident.

They had talked late at night after the fierce battles and they had filled in the missing pieces of Sho the other did not know about. In those nights and days, she had made a very different kind of friend. The awkward admission Sho made aside, they each accepted him as he was.

Ryuko knew they both loved him for different reasons, but they could have hated him or each other for admitting to it at the same time. Instead, they had forged a very strange understanding and unspoken truce.

For that reason, for extending that bond of friendship and inclusion, Ryuko knew she had to not push this boundary. The truth had already been said and she could not go back a second time.

"GUYVER!" The armor enclosed Sho and he floated up above them all. She felt tears trail down her face as he summoned the Gigantic and then floated over the still broiling waters behind them.

The light reached a new brightness and she knew the air was rippling in front of him. It peaked one more moment, then she heard a sound like thunder echo across the sky.

Ryuko felt the strength go out of her legs as she fell into Mako's arms. Tears came from them all, but it was a mix of sad and happy now.

"ATTENTION STUDENTS! Salute our Academy that we have graduated from!" Satsuki's voice blared across the waters as she shone from her own boat. "Never forget Sho Fukamachi, the Guyver, and all he did for us!"

Wiping her eyes, Ryuko joined the others in their salute. The Academy was gone with so much more of her heart, but she would not trade the last year and a half for anything. Her heart was guarded by a strange Sailor Uniform and a boy armored in blue.

Now she just had to find some clothes before they landed before she could move forward with her new life. She certainly did not need Mikisugi to be encouraged more than he was already.


	28. Chapter 28 - Final Nightmare

**Somewhere Inbetween**

Sho felt the tears flowing as he hung suspended in the rivers of light and noise. This time was much easier, even after the battle with the Academy and the fake Guyver. He felt like he had left a part of himself behind just now and would never get it back.

Senketsu's unraveling had hit him hard, but all the death he had faced thus far had braced him for more loss. Still, the loss was heavy in his heart as well. He knew he wanted to stay with Ryuko, but she had the Mankanshokus and Satsuki as well.

He had seen the smile on the former President's face as she looked at Ryuko and knew a good future awaited both. It was harder to let go and go home, but he had to. Especially as he focused this time on the Rift around him.

He and Tetsuo had reached a conclusion about this unexpected power of the Gigantic, mostly that it was like the Guyver, out of control. The Creators may have theorized about such realities, but if they had access to all of _this_ , the would never have needed to create life on Earth.

With a feeling of motion, Sho was able to see things much more clearly than last time. It was all Earth, every possibility or turn.

He saw once more the giant machines shaped like men battle alongside massive ships in air and sea. He saw teens barely as old as him fighting monsters with swords, magic, and weapons he was not sure were possible.

He saw all the mythical creatures that ever existed and even some story book settings with all the fantastical peoples of books he remembered Tetsuo going on about for Sci Fi club.

He could reach them all. The fall of Chronos would be assured with allies from many worlds or technology as well. Agito's idea rang in his head, but then Sho remembered fire.

The rain could not stop it and people were screaming in the fires of Honno Town. He had held a little girl crying for her mother that was dying in his arms. All his senses told him she could not be saved and she died there in his arms as he comforted her.

He saw the bodies of the many 2-Star guards and students attacked during the invasions by the Zoanoids as he was at Honnouji Academy.

He remembered the nearly 6 months of fighting the Covers and avoiding Zoanoids. He saw the desperate faces of the young, old, and tired people that had avoided being absorbed by the Covers. He saw all that had happened to so many innocents and new the door was 2 ways.

For all that he could bring back like Ryuko and Senketsu, the reverse could also be true. The time taken to get it and gain trust could allow the Zoalords to return to Japan and possibly kill Makishima.

Sho was not a God, nor was the Gigantic all powerful. How many people had died already for this accident? How many more would pay if he pushed his luck?

His hesitation to return and all his ideas were just a facade with that last question. Sho knew the real reason he was trying to stay in the Rift. If he went back home there would be no going back. He would never see Ryuko again.

Closing his fists, he concentrated on the feeling of Guyver III and the sensation of motion overcame him. He pushed it as much as he dared to end the temptation forever.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Mitzuki was toying with her water bottle on the picnic blanket. It was just spinning on the simple plastic plate in the shade. The last 2 months had been an upturned cup for her in many ways. The joy of Sho's return and the nearly unbelievable defeat of Archanfel and Balcus was marred by Sho admitting he loved someone else in addition to her.

The hurt and anger had been burned quickly by the full story. Ryuko had been hard to read at first, a very head strong and confident girl, but her eyes. That is what finally broke Mitzuki. She had the same eyes as Sho.

The haunted eyes that go with becoming something inhuman. Agito did not have those eyes, he did not seem to have changed at all when he became a Guyver aside from revealing the coldness inside him.

Sho had become haunted by becoming the Guyver and all the horror their lives had become. He seemed to lose that look when they had become closer, but she still saw it from time to time. Ryuko had the same eyes.

She had not been near Sho and it was after another nest of Zoanoids had been cleaned out from a Chronos facility. The battle had been brutal with a lot of Hyper-Zoanoids. Sho had lost an arm and Agito had been pierced through the chest again, but both Guyvers had pushed through with Ryuko's help.

The girl had been sitting there looking at her arms and hands as they had just been cleaned and there were no wounds at all even though Mitzuki clearly remembered reading a report that she had taken a Gregorl horn to her right arm.

It was that look right then that had so reminded her of Sho as those blue eyes looked grimly at the undamaged skin.

After that she began to talk to her rival in Sho's heart and learned the true horror that had been done to the girl. The oddity of her uniform quickly passed for them all, but it was odd to see it hanging like any other piece of laundry a lot of the time.

Now she had a clear picture of what happened and did not happen between them. Even so, she was not sure how she and Sho could move forward for a long time.

The terror, frustration, and horror of their journey had left unique scars on them all, but Ryuko had been able to reach Sho in a way she could never understand. She was only human, but Ryuko had walked the same line as Sho between humanity and a monster.

"You should talk to Sho when he gets back." The bottle went flying off the plate as Tetsuo seemed to read her thoughts. Her brother was laying down with a tablet in one of his hands keeping an eye on their new barrier around Japan.

"We have talked a lot even with all that has gone on Tetsu." She did not feel like having this conversation, but she saw the amber eyes of her brother glance at her and say quite clearly: 'Uh-huh.'

"I just—I just don't know what to do. I still love him but he—he—," the words could not seem to form. and she ran her hand through her hair as she floundered for them.

"He was human and alone after fighting nightmarish battles against not just Zoanoids but nearly immortal people bent on destroying the world. He was at one of his weakest moments and quite by accident found someone who understood his unique perspective." Tetsuo was not looking at her nor seemed like he was just making this up on the spot. It sounded more like he had worked through it step by step himself.

"I know that! I know that was an impossible thing to avoid in that case, but why did he go about it like this?!" She held her hands up and the wind blew her camouflage sleeves for a moment and she wondered what she meant.

"He had come back after an exhaustive battle only to keep fighting. He pushed it to give us something and stop Chronos long enough for us to breathe again. He did it because I think he faced death a lot more for that time he was alone than ever before." He put the tablet down and looked at her now. "I think he did it because he had watched a lot of innocent people die he could not save sis. He told me about a lot of it."

A memory of Ryuko skimming over an attack of her neighborhood suddenly appeared. The lack of detail should have been a clue, but Zoanoids were rarely subtle when they attacked. She felt a twist to her stomach as she remembered all too clearly another burning neighborhood when she had learned what Sho had become.

Sho's nightmare had truly begun that night to her. If he had had to face it again, with no one to turn to, what would have happened to him?

The possibilities were not good and again memories of when Sho could not summon Guyver I after he had killed his father sprang to mind.

He had deep scars that the Guyver could never heal, but perhaps the reason the Sho she remembered came back from this strange trip at all was thanks to the bond he and Ryuko forged. Even as strong as it was, he had not denied it nor her right to rip him apart.

She smiled a little as she saw the worry in the eyes of a man that had literally been killed and come back more than once. He had been afraid of her!

She was about to share the thought she could move past this, when she saw it. A lone shadow in the sunny day and mild winds. The grass waved across her vision as she took in the details of the medium height, dark shoulder length hair, and pale skin. The jacket was newer and from Chronos, but for a moment her mind imposed a worn leather jacket and shades on the man.

"GET DOWN!" Agito unleashed the megasmasher right at the being that had once been their closest friend Murakami, now the 12th Zoalord of Chronos when Richard Guyot died at Relics Point.

The beams seemed to be deflected up into the air as a shield snapped on, but it distorted the breeze around it as well. It was a gravity shield, far more effective against the weapons of the Guyver!

"I see. Fukamachi is not here, nor that annoying woman from the records we retrieved. The others opposed this plan, but unlike them, I am not reliant on Zoanoids to fight." The skin split open the the clothes shredded to reveal a tight suit similar to others they had seen. It expanded with the now pale flesh and green colored crystals filled out the humanoid form.

The arched crown on his head was broken in one place, the same place Guyot had broken it during their final battle. It was a knife to her heart as she saw the cold stare at them all. A regular Guyver stood no chance against a Zoalord.

 _Sho, please hurry!_ The thought leapt from her heart and she saw Guyver III clash as the Thunderbolts hurried to bring weapons to bear. It was all pointless. The reports she had seen herself. The terrifying power of Guyot was now his, the ability to manipulate gravity.

Against that, only the Gigantic stood a chance.

Folding her hands in prayer, Mitsuki could only hope Sho came back soon. There was no where to hide this time.

* * *

 **Somewhere in Between**

Sho felt tears sting his eyes as he saw them. They were there, a trail of red thread from Senketsu. He must have been in so much pain this time, but he never stopped them. He even pushed as far as he could until the end to let Ryuko fight.

Now he passed through them when a shock went through the Guyver.

Agito was under attack and something else, Mitsuki was calling him!

He pushed the Gigantic faster and began to silently pray he was in time. What had happened in the few hours he had been gone?

As the Gigantic pushed through the Rift, the red threads began to follow in his wake.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Agito was bleeding badly, but the loss of his left arm was a minor price to pay for his life. The frightening power of Murakami was too much like Guyots' but it also was the coldness of the man. It was like fighting a bad copy but only in spirit, all the skills were there.

If he had been this strong before, he would not have needed a Guyver to defeat Chronos.

Agito's own unit was already healing him, but now the Zoalord was looking at the Rift. Or rather, he suspected, he was trying to unravel its secret.

"Ah, I see. You are an anchor Guyver III. So I only need kill you to forever banish Guyver I." The quick conclusion left a chill in his veins. The cold stare looked right at him in the copse of trees. "It is no good hiding. The game is over, Chronos will reclaim the world in Archanfel's name. We win."

It was no arrogance nor triumph, just simple facts to the creature. It was not a living thing at all, just a puppet following its last commands!

His blood burned at the indignity of this, but he had no power to stop him. He could run away, but all the people here would surely be dead in a heartbeat. He saw the Segawas just standing there!

The tree he was behind suddenly vanished in a bubble of folded gravity as it was flattened. Only the reflex of the Guyver saved him. The cold stare of his enemy was locked in, and he had no where to go.

"As I said, we win." Agito saw the air begin to distort around him when Murakami suddenly stopped. Air was heaving into his lungs at the near death by crushing he was about to experience as he looked up and hope actually filled him.

Standing tall as the Rift closed safely behind him was Fukamachi in the Gigantic.

"That is enough, this ends now!" Sho's voice was full of anger, but Agito could not fault his pause this time. Of all the enemies, even this one was not just another monster to kill.

"Your return is inconvenient, but you are alone Fukamachi. You will die." The calm certainty in that statement left no doubts, but instead of attacking, the monster raised his right hand while looking at the Gigantic and Agito felt the blood drain from his face.

He looked and saw with certainty a bubble around Mitsuki. She was alive but fear had her frozen in that moment. Tetsuo was banging uselessly on the shield and all felt the tension in the air.

"I believe this is clear. Disengage and die, or watch her become liquid." There was no menace, he would simply do exactly as outlined. There was also no doubt in Agito's mind they were all dead.

Fukamachi needed to sacrifice them to win, he had to do this. Surely he could see there was no way out of this alive for them all?

* * *

Sho was racking his brain for any possibility. He was not foolish enough to take this demon at his word. He also knew that if he moved, he was signing the death warrant of more than just Mitsuki. There had to be a way!

 _Sho, use me._ For a moment, Sho thought he was out of his mind, but he felt it again. It was far weaker than before, but he felt Senketsu! How?!

 _I am not Senketsu, yet I am. I am all that is left that was in the Rift and attached to the Gigantic. I feel like I am slipping away, but I think I can do something. He will not expect it, but I will need blood._

A flash of the fake Guyver went through Sho's mind, but he knew they needed a miracle more than that. A miracle to save them all. Something impossible something…still connected?

Moving an orb barely, he looked behind him and saw the Rift was still partially open when it should not be. Could it work? He had to hope and concentrated all he was worth as he vibrated his arm to bleed.

It felt like something sucked on his arm and new strength flowed in his veins. The Guyver even seemed to feel lighter. Laughter filled his head at his idea and for a moment, a dim eye took shape in his mind.

 _I can feel her, and you. We are still connected Sho, I will do it!_ Praying this was not his final action in life he disengaged the Gigantic and stood as Guyver I.

* * *

 **Kill La Kill Earth**

Ryuko was with Mako on the main shore when her heart began to pierce with pain. It was like something was making it hard to breathe.

 _Ryuko, he needs you one more time._ It was Senketsu's voice, but it was so faint. An image flashed in her mind of Sho standing before a Zoalord. He was disarming and she saw Mitsuki in danger as well. Her friends were in danger.

An image took shape in her mind and she smiled.

"Stand back Mako, this is going to be a doozy." Her friend looked at her oddly as she turned to where the feeling was strongest. As she had before, she focused on her core and pulled all the power left in her own Life Fibers and felt it at last.

A single thread, a Life Fiber of her kamui, had reconnected from within her and was now guiding her.

She felt it again, even dimly, the connection one more time as she put her right foot back and left forward. She felt him then. Her heart raced as it matched with his and for a moment she could see through the Rift to his world again.

 _There Ryuko, do it now!_ Senketsu's voice was fading with the thread, but the scissor blade was ready.

"HERE WE GO SHO!" Her whole body tensed and the concrete shattered as she threw with all her might. Glass shattered in windows and clouds parted from the shockwave as the blade flew straight and true.

"One more time my friend, one last time we are with you." She sent her heart with that scissor not just to Sho, but Senketsu as well. She felt tears slide down her cheeks as Mako embraced her from behind. For once, even the clueless Mako knew no words were for this moment.

The sun glittered off the red blade as it suddenly vanished in a sliver of light.

* * *

 **Guyver Earth**

Sho stood unequipped before what had been a good friend. It had torn his heart out as Guyot had literally ripped him apart and he learned that Murakami was dying anyway. Now that same face looked at him, transformed into a Zoalord, with no emotion whatsoever.

When Archanfel made him the new 12th, it was like he had lost something forever that made him remotely human.

"Your compliance was unexpected. I do not sense any traps yet I find I am reluctant to kill you all." The complete lack of emotion was more disturbing than the words. Sho had no doubt it was confusion keeping them alive more than anything else.

"I think you will find that the impossible is what I am relying on right now Zoalord." Sho felt tears fall down his cheeks as a spark of curiosity flashed in the nightmare in front of him. It was something also akin to wonder at what was about to happen.

"There is nothing—" The Zoalord was closing his fist as he spoke and Mitsuki's bubble shrank.

"NOW SENKETSU!" The shout came with a burning pain as his right arm exploded with black fibers and red streaked through it. A tiny eye sprang out of it.

 _It comes Sho!_ He raised the now gloved hand that looked so familiar and the world split open behind him.

The red scissor came flying out of the now closing rift. In the split second if flew by, the gloved hand grasped the handle and it extended instantly to impale the Zoalord through the heart. The look of surprise was on all faces at the sudden reversal of events.

The gravity bubble flickered out as both pale hands closed weakly over the scissor blades in his chest.

"How…impossible—" Blood flowed from his mouth and Sho felt a smile tug slightly.

"The impossible is what she is good at. Thank you Ryuko, Senketsu. GUYVER!" The armor enclosed him and he did not wait. He did not try to think about it as the vibrating blades flashed and blood flared across his vision.

Not finished, he quickly unleashed gravity blasts and watched the broken form fall still impaled by the scissors. He felt tears flow as he saw the blue armor splashed by blood as the body finally burst into self destruction.

"Good-bye Murakami. Rest in piece." The armor disengaged and he saw the glove was fading as well.

 _Thank you for the last moment Sho, it was…fun._ A warm feeling touched his mind before the final threads vanished. His arm was scarred, but the Guyver could fix that easily. If could not fix the scars on his heart, but he would not want it to.

The unexpected scars made by Ryuko, Senketsu, and so many others. It may not have been what he thought he wanted, but the war with Chronos had left him with a dimming amount of hope.

The impossible things Ryuko and the others pulled off while he battled at their side had given him back something he had lost. Mitsuki told him the Gigantic gave hope to the Thunderbolts and now Japan, but someone had given him back his hope.

"Sho?" Turning around, he saw a shaken but very much alive Mitsuki with Tetsuo behind her. Farther behind them he saw a fully restored Guyver III with the other Thunderbolts gathering around.

"I am ok Mitsuki, I really am. I think we are all going to be ok now." New tears flowed down her face and he was tackled hard followed quickly by Tetsuo as well.

"We are all going to be ok." The weights that had been there since he had first become the Guyver were nothing now. They had been lifted by the friends in his arms a piece at a time, but they had practically been demolished by a wild Mako with her antics. The stubborn and unpredictable Ryuko with the steady Senketsu had walked with him side by side down the path outside yet with humanity.

The fearsome Elite 4 with their Lady President had pushed him to learn the depths of both the Guyver and himself, how many others? How many others had helped him back to find Sho Fukamachi?

It had been so long since he had not thought in terms of being the Guyver and they had re-taught him how to be himself.

"Come on, let's go home. We have a lot to do tomorrow, but not today." Sho took Mitsuki's hand and they walked up the hill to the cheering crowd of Thunderbolts.

In the afternoon sunlight, amidst the ruins of the facility built to monitor the rift, the red scissors impaled the ground where the Zoalord had been. A dark chapter had closed bound in the thread of Life Fibers and the power of the Guyver.

Neither world would be the same and both were now full of hope. The boy in the out of control armor and the girl with the living outfit had changed worlds. A single red thread was tied the right handle and flowed on the wind.

* * *

 **1000 Years Later**

The world had changed very little to her mind. People were still generally crap to each other for selfish reasons, but fights could still be found. It was about the time of her 40th birthday that people really began to notice the problem.

Life Fibers were gone from the clothes of the world, but they lived on inside her. They kept her going and according to Inumuta at the time, it made her practically immortal. Like Ragyo and Nui before her, enough damage would kill her, but the weapons to do it no longer existed.

No one was much bothered by this, but Ryuko now felt the weight of a millennia. More so as she looked at the sky tonight and it was not star light that made her grimace and wish for a kamui. Her steel blue eyes saw the skies full of ships of all sizes and armaments rise up to meet their doom.

The Life Fibers had returned.

They looked like the Original Life Fiber she had battled so long ago, but there were a lot of them now. They had come as Satsuki had feared they would. It was the only reason she had not tried to leave the world on her own.

They had not anticipated this many however. She brushed her dark bangs back and cracked her knuckles. It was going to be a long fight either way. Nudist Beach had left her a lot of presents to work on over the centuries, but there was just not enough.

"For once you could have gone more overboard Mikisugi." She had not said that name aloud for a very long time, but just as the first ships were getting damaged, the sky exploded in light.

Once her eyes had cleared, she thought she was losing her mind.

There were even more ships! They looked light giant acorns with spikes coming out the fat end.

Shapes began to move and she could not make them out, but one was getting closer as the rest moved towards the Life Fiber masses.

Unlike the metal ships, these shapes seemed able to inflict damage and they seemed damned familiar flashes of light.

"Ryuko Matoi?" The uncertainty in the voice was clear but she felt her heart stop. She had not heard this voice in over a thousand years, it could not be.

"Yes, but are you—?" She smiled as the armor disengaged and Sho Fukamachi stood before her. He had gotten broader of shoulder a bit but was still pretty slim. She had a growth spurt herself and now stood eye to eye with him.

"You are really alive, Mitsuki was always sure, but I figured you would not put up with all the problems." Sho blurred in front of her eyes as tears fell. He was awkwardly patting his hair as he stood there. She rushed forward and crushed him in a hug.

"What are you doing here?!" The words left her as she felt his arms wrap around her. She felt his body shake with laughter.

"Oh I was just in the neighborhood and I brought some friends." He pointed up and she suddenly understood what she was seeing. They were Guyvers, all Guyvers!

"How?" She could not seem to string words together at this miracle.

"General Fukamachi, the Life Fibers are difficult but it is as you reported. We can damage them." Ryuko whirled to see someone that looked strongly like Tetsuo. She was in far better shape, but she held something in her hands that was stunning.

"Good Saeka, please leave those here and let the Commanders know I will be there shortly." It was a far more confident voice from him, but she was focused on the item in the girl's hands. They were back!

The red scissors were pristine and like new. The short haired woman nodded then left the scissors with a box next to them.

"I am afraid we have to skip the catch up Ryuko and go straight to the question, are you ready to fight?" Sho looked at her with serious eyes now. She could totally believe he was in command here.

"I am afraid I don't have Senketsu to help me, but I will do what I can." She saw a smirk on Sho's face and he nodded behind her. She turned and looked closer at the box. It was unremarkable save it was a dark black.

She picked it up and felt cloth fall back to reveal a rounded object with a shiny ball in the middle. As she looked at it, it suddenly glowed red and exploded outward before she could react.

Pain lanced through her body, but pain similar to what she had felt once before.

"It is ok Ryuko, it will pass." Just as he spoke it indeed seemed to pass. Just as she was about to yell at him, she felt a presence in her mind. It could not possibly be?

 _Ah Ryuko, it has been a long time. Sho's friends are quite remarkable but without Life Fibers they adapted what they had to a Guyver just for you!_ Ryuko felt tears flow but she looked up into a window and saw her reflection.

It was a Guyver alright, but the armor seemed to be rather thin in odd places. It was arched shoulders and full length gloves and boots, but the midriff was nearly exposed!

"You still don't cover me very well old friend." She heard laughter from Sho and saw he had re-engaged his armor.

"I was stunned when Tetsuo suggested the pieces left be incorporated to a new unit, but thrilled when it spoke to me. I knew I had to bring it, but now is not the time. We have a new battle to fight, are you ready?" Laughing, Ryuko easily felt her new abilities and flew up to fight her old enemy with her old friend at her side.

The Life Fibers would never know what hit them! For all the would come after this moment, Ryuko only felt laughter in her heart. She had waited for an enemy to return for a thousand years, and instead her 2 closest friends returned to stand by her side.

The universe was a strange place, but it had its moments when things could be really bad and really good all at once, this was going to be really good. She could feel it.


	29. Chapter 29 - Author's Note

Author's Note:

So I did not follow a common trait on the site, one I did for my previous stories, of preambles and ramblings. While these can be amazing and fun to read as well, in this case I felt I would be trying to defend my choices or explaining things for Guyver/Kill La Kill.

I loved the reviews and I took suggestions from my original path for the story as they made good sense. A story is shaped by the reader as much as the writer, we each take away our own fun from it.

It all started from this idea I had listening to the Kill La Kill soundtrack, I saw the Guyver I standing with Satsuki and Ryuko on either side facing Zoanoids. The path they followed was vastly different, but a lot of it was similar too.

Each character was equipped with suits that empowered them beyond any expectation of those that created them. Also the ability of the Guyver Gigantic to travel across the world in moments through a "different" space appealed to my science fiction thoughts.

After that it was simply a question of time. A lot of crossovers get muddled there to me, but to each their own, the really good ones though suck you in by making it seem to match up. I am an older fan, so Guyver and a lot of stand alone movies are where I began (finding anything for Guyver now can be hard too).

It made sense that more time had passed for Guyver before crossing over to Kill La Kill, but for some clarification:

Sho Fukamachi had been killed once before as the Guyver, then when he restored hours later, it was as if no time passed for him. Setting aside complicated philosophical questions, he was still Sho. Later, at Relics Point, he was nearly disintegrated by Archanfel but joined with the Control Metal of the last working Creators' ship to eventually create the Gigantic.

Even though considerable time had passed, he was not technically reconstituted until the Gigantic was complete. In that sense, Sho was several years older chronologically, but biologically he was about the same.

I took a liberty there for parallel worlds to keep similar ages, but I am glad most liked it. I also appreciate the constructive suggestions, I am still learning and happy to incorporate them (for comparison see my abominable grammar in Champion of Grayskull).

I of course own nothing of Guyver or Kill La Kill aside from my enjoyment of them both. I hope people enjoy my little romp crossing them both and I shamelessly encourage taking a look at my other works on here.

I also firmly encourage finding good stories you enjoy and sharing them as much as possible. Thank you for reading!


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